Transition to Gensokyo
by Cirno the Genius
Summary: It's only a matter of time before the youkai faction of Kyoto ceases to exist. When Yukari Yakumo comes knocking however, is it truly a deal that can be made with no loopholes? Or is it one with the devil in the form of a youkai? That is until Yasaka finds out that Gensokyo has some troubles of their own as well...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So... Cirno the Genius here I guess. I did have a friend beta this so it wouldn't look too bad. I didn't even look at it completely for myself before I sent it off to him so whatever's here is what's up. Much love and appreciation to him, Xavic, my uber long-time friend who has been with me throughout the ages. He's the one who beta'ed this that writing genius of his makes me green with envy. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I pondered and enjoyed the idea of thinking this through!**

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Negotiations

"You will not come to Gensokyo?"

Yasaka, leader of the Youkai Faction of Kyoto looked across the table at a very elegantly dressed woman, with a white mob cap and a shimmering fan with a stern and determined look. Behind her was a fellow nine-tailed fox, who appeared to be her shikigami along with a two-tailed cat.

"I'm sorry Yukari. But I cannot leave Kyoto. I have already spoken to a few of the other youkai and only a few would like to leave for Gensokyo. The others do not want to leave behind their past. As the leader of the Youkai Faction, I cannot leave the other youkai to fend for themselves while I escape, even if I wanted to."

"And nothing I do or speak of otherwise will change your mind?" Yukari asked one final time, shutting the graceful fan and storing it into her long white dress sleeves. "Not even if I take young Kunou?"

Yasaka frowned heavily and narrowed her eyes at the suggestion. "I have much respect for you Yukari, but I will not allow anything to happen to my daughter from anyone. Not even you."

"It's nothing to worry about." Yukari waved her hand dismissively. "'It was simply a joke."

"A joke made in poor taste." Yasaka bit back before returning to a more amicable. "Regardless, I'm curious as to why you've come here all of a sudden. The last time I've seen you was at least three decades ago. I suspect this isn't an ordinary visit."

Yukari turned solemn as her eyes closed in sadness. Yasaka became puzzled at her expression, raising a curious eyebrow on the very rare show of clear emotion on the ancient youkai.

"Gensokyo was recently invaded by the Lunarians."

Kyoto's nine-tailed fox's eyes widened at such a statement.

Gensokyo? Invaded? Such a thing seemed absolutely unfeasible with the legendary Great Hakurei Barrier protecting it from most outsiders. Even if that were the case, the Hakurei Shrine Maiden along with the many powerful youkai she knew existed within Gensokyo would likely dissuade such ideas. Obviously, Gensokyo had won, or at least managed to repel the Lunarians. Otherwise, Yukari would not be here in front of her. She couldn't imagine Yukari losing. If Yukari wasn't in the front lines already trying to stop the attack, then she'd either be gathering as much information as she could, gain support from the residents, or be making most of the strategic decisions. And there were very few, if any, who loved Gensokyo more than Yukari Yakumo herself. She'd do anything for it.

"Most of the damage has already been erased from history, thanks to one of our youkai." Yukari said before pausing. "Though the geography and damage to the land has been fixed, it is the lives that cannot be replaced. Many of the humans are powerless with a few exceptions, and the youkai lost the most lives in the end. Even the Yama cannot do anything about it and the current Hakurei Shrine Maiden is in a coma. Her husband has been killed defending her and their daughter still untrained on how to properly fulfill her mother's duties. As it is, she is under my custody until Reimu reawakens. It is taking most of my power to maintain the barrier. Gensokyo's existence and balance is in jeopardy."

No wondered Yukari had pushed so hard to persuade the Youkai faction to come to Gensokyo.

If that was the case, then just how many lives were taken from that invasion?

"Currently, I have spies watching the Lunar Capital for any movement. Even I'm still unsure of whether a second attack will be coming. No matter how powerful Gensokyo's residents are, each one will fall with enough numbers. That is why I've come for a trade."

Yasaka, while sympathetic, remained a bit wary towards her. "And what would that be?"

Yukari smiled enigmatically. "I know of your current state of affairs here in Kyoto. Belief in the youkai here is declining. Many of you are becoming weaker and with enough time, you will all cease to exist."

Yasaka did her best to hide the grimace, as fruitless as it was against a manipulator like Yukari.

"In Gensokyo, however, we are most powerful. Though this may not hold as true due to recent events, it is a paradise made for both humans and youkai. To share a peaceful co-existence that so long as faith in the youkai exist, they will not fully perish. And Gensokyo is overflowing with this faith."

Another persuasion tactic by Yukari it seemed, and this one was the most effective one yet. Yasaka knew war after all, and only the most cruel or apathetic could turn a blind eye to it. And this was on top of all the advantages Gensokyo had that could _easily_ solve all their issues with the snap of a finger.

Her intellectual prowess was most certainly worthy of fear along with her powers.

What she said was true though. Youkai thrived off the fear and belief of humans. That fear was waning as of late, but many of the youkai still wanted to stay in Kyoto in hopes that their conditions would improve. However, there was a generally unsaid rule in the supernatural world where those of it would not cause direct harm or become a threat to those not of it. It wasn't just the youkai faction that abided by this, but other supernatural groups around the world as well.

No matter how much Yasaka wanted to deny it, the continued existence of the Youkai Faction was at stake. It was a matter of choosing whether to have it survive in a new world, or staying in the old to die upon their own lands.

"I will give you time to discuss this along with your elders. They should know my name quite well. I'm afraid I cannot stay here for long as I need to keep the barrier maintained. I believe you know how to contact me though." Yukari stated as she stood up from her seat and began walking towards the door, her Shikigami following her.

Yasaka nodded in response.

"Then I expect an answer soon."

And with that, Yukari and her companions left through the opening of a gap, leaving Yasaka alone to ponder the conversation they just had.

She sighed, already having a feeling that the Youkai Council would go on for hours on deciding what to do.

xXx

"Yukari-sama?" Ran asked as her master sadly observed the comatose Reimu. "Would you like to have some time for yourself?"

The two of them were sitting in the Hakurei Shrine with Reimu in bed, eyes shut. Chen was currently outside playing with the three light fairies that inhabited a tree near the Hakurei Shrine. Yukari and her shikigami had come right to the Hakurei Shrine as soon as negotiations with Yasaka had finished.

"Auntie Yukari?"

Both Yukari and Ran turned to the owner of the voice. A little girl no older than ten, in full Hakurei Shrine garb, slid open the screen door and came in. Her hair was tied back with a red string into a long ponytail as she carried a tray of tea.

"Reimi." Yukari said, more to herself than to anyone else as the sad look she had graced the unconscious Reimu with was now turned to her only daughter. "I suppose Suika brought you here."

"Uh-huh…" She set the tea tray down next to Ran. "Auntie Suika said she wanted to visit Mom. I wanted to come too. She said that you were going to come too and that we should wait for you."

"I see. And where is she?"

"Right here." Suika answered as she walked in with her usual drunken stupor.

Yukari turned her familiar. "Ran, leave us."

"Yes, Yukari-sama."

The nine-tailed fox shikigami silently slipped through the open screen as the other three occupants of the room sat down quietly next to Reimu's still body.

"Mom…" Reimi said quietly in a depressed tone, looking at her prone body with utter sadness.

"Eirin says that Reimu's not gonna wake up anytime soon. Something about a 15% chance of her waking up in current conditions." Suika stated bluntly as she took a small sip from her sake gourd, Reimi looked at it curiously, but said nothing.

"For all of the medicinal prowess of the much despised Lunarian Sage, even she has her limits." Yukari said rather bitterly. "Not even I can remove the boundaries of unconsciousness and consciousness to forcibly wake Reimu. Too much of my power is being diverted to the Barrier. If I were to fight, you – among many others – would most certainly win."

"Well… I don't think you have to worry so much about them attacking you." Suika waved off dismissively. "If you're outta commission too, then Gensokyo as a whole is done for. Everybody knows better than to attack you at this point, even if they don't like you. And if they do, then they'll have ta' answer to me and almost all the other youkai."

"Yeah! I'll beat them all up!" Reimi encouraged, punching a fist into the air as if to reassure the sage of Gensokyo. "For Mom! And everybody else!"

"Regardless, very few times have I been so vulnerable. If any a point were I to worry about the continuance of Gensokyo's existence because of my weakness, this would be it." Yukari ignored the enthusiasm before a task she had asked others of occurred to her. "Have you or any of the others found an alternative to wake Reimu?"

Reimi's eyes widened in surprise before filling with hope as she looked at both her aunts. "T-There's a way to wake Mom up?"

Suika rubbed her head sheepishly. "Ehh…. Something like that? Eirin said there were two things we could do."

"What is it Auntie Suika? Please, tell me!" Reimi said forcefully, pleading with her eyes.

"Alright alright! Geez, I was gonna get to that anyway." Suika looked away from Reimi, unable to bear the puppy-dog eyes for more than a second. "Well, the first one is to use the Hourai Elixir."

A stern look from Yukari replaced the guilt-ridden one and was immediately cast upon Suika at the elixir's mentioning. Reimi on the other hand, was more than curious about it.

"Hourai… Elixir?" Reimi placed a finger under her chin as she began to think upon it.

"No," Yukari refused immediately. "The situation is not dire enough to be forced to use that. Reimu would never forgive any of us if she were forced to live to see Reimi pass away before she does. She is very resilient, but the loss of both her husband and Reimi would crush her. It is only a temporary solution at best and Reimu cannot be the Hakurei Shrine Maiden forever."

"Auntie? What's the Hourai Elixir?" Reimi tugged on Yukari's dress sleeve to grab her attention. "Is it some kind of healing potion?"

"It's an Elixir that only Eirin Yagokoro, the nurse that sees to Reimu, can make. It allows someone who drinks it to become immortal." Yukari explained gravely, although the young shrine maiden looked confused.

"Although, it is strange that she would offer it so," the gap youkai muttered quietly enough so Reimi couldn't hear, but Suika could.

"Something about a debt for helping Kaguya and everybody else. I dunno what that's all about though."

"I-immortal? What does that mean?"

"It means to live forever Reimi. They can't get sick, get old, or ever die. If they do, they just come right back." Suika answered, taking another swig of alcohol.

Reimi looked excited at such a prospect however, unlike the both of her aunt-like figures.

"Wow! So… Mom would never die? She wouldn't end up like… Dad?"

Yukari knew where this line of dialogue was going to lead. Not that she could blame Reimi; this was quite literally a dream come true and after losing her father and nearly her mother, and even then there was no guarantee Reimu would wake up.

She pressed on nonetheless. "Reimi. The Hourai Elixir cannot be used. You and Reimu both lost someone. However, if Reimu were to drink it and become immortal, she would live forever. You would die before her, Reimi. Do you remember how we all saw how sad and angry she was when your father died. How would your mother feel if you passed away before she did, Reimi?"

"Oh…" Reimi said depressingly. A moment passed, then her eyes lit up with another idea. "But, if I drink it too, then Mom and I could both live forever right?"

Her face was filled with such joy that Suika and Yukari found it hard to turn away.

"Right?" Reimi repeated, if only to herself as her hope slowly faded.

"Sorry kid." Suika eventually apologized with a tinge of soberness in her words. "Nobody is meant to live forever. Even Yukari and I aren't gonna be around forever. For Reimu, it's too early for her. Yukari and I will live a _looooong_ time, but who really knows how long we've got."

Reimi shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. "No! I don't want you guys to go! I don't want to lose anyone anymore! I don't want you to die too!"

She broke down, roughly wiping at her eyes and nose.

Suika pat her head comfortingly. "Don't worry Reimi. As long as nothing happens, we'll end up living way longer than you in the end. You'll see us around until you get old. 'Sides, you and Yukari haven't even heard of the other method we have!"

"W-what is it?" Reimi asked through her tears. Yukari could only offer a look of thanks as she silently urged Suika to push the conversation away from the Hourai Elixer

"Actually, Eirin and Kanako came up with this one. Sanae's technically a living god since she's a descendent of Suwako, right? The Moriya Shrine's got a lot of faith from everybody so she could be counted as a goddess too, although not really on the same level." Suika began explaining with both other occupants listening intently. Yukari realized the conclusion almost instantly.

"I understand. With a tremendous amount of faith, Reimu could also become a goddess. Under normal circumstances, she should by all means be dead after the amount of wounds she took. It's a testimony of how powerful she is with her level of resilience, her powers as a human and being one from the Hakurei bloodline. She's easily one of if not the most powerful descendant by far, although she'd be more fearsome if she actually trained…" Yukari trailed off before continuing. "If she were to gain more faith, there is a high chance that she could overcome her coma."

"S-So…." Reimi stuttered, unsure whether this was a viable solution. "How do we do that? And where are we gonna get all the faith?"

Suika cheerfully spoke up. "From Gensokyo! Most of the humans in the human village all belong to everyone else though so probably not from them. But the youkai, that's a different story!"

"However." Yukari interjected. "Many of the youkai have been killed from the recent invasion. Even if they gave their faith to Reimu, it would not be enough."

"Any little we can get would probably help." Suika countered. "'Sides, d'you forget? I'm an Oni too and you know what my ability is. I can help gather up the faith from everyone too."

Yukari nodded. "And I have been working on migrating more youkai from the outside world to Gensokyo. Not only could we get them to offer their faith to Reimu, but we would solve the population disparity, as well as have enough to fend off another invasion from the Lunarians. I can guarantee that they will be coming one way or another."

Suika shook her head in disbelief. "Ahh geez. You didn't mention making contact with the outside world in the last youkai meeting. It's always hiding things with you Yukari. Even if you're always telling the truth to me eventually which us Oni believe in, it's always hard to tell what your plans are."

And for once since the beginning of the meeting, Yukari gave her infamous enigmatic smile that always sent shivers down anyone who didn't know what she was planning.

"Fufufu. You know me quite well Suika," Yukari chuckled. "Although the Youkai Faction of the outside world has a high chance of refusing my proposal of migrating to Gensokyo. I have something in mind for that. I initially believed that getting the youkai faction to migrate would only serve to bolster our forces and solve the population disparity. However, with Reimu's possible recovery involved, it seems that they have become a massive benefit that Gensokyo needs."

"But… if they refuse then Mom won't get any better!" Reimi pointed out, although the expression on Yukari didn't change at all.

"Don't worry kid! Yukari won't fail. I know her." Suika rebutted, smiling at her friend. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad that you're manipulating someone else for the entirety of Gensokyo for once and not for your own fun."

"How rude, Suika. Nevertheless, I'm expecting an answer from the youkai faction in the outside world, but it will be one that won't hinder Reimu's recovery in any way. I promise." Yukari smiled towards the sky. "In fact, they may know my nature, but they would never suspect the hidden cards Gensokyo as a whole has. Nor the amount of the dedication and drive its citizens have when something precious to them is threatened. For many of them, a chance to help Reimu is something that they will gladly participate in. That's why, this plan will not fail."

Reimi looked up towards her auntie in awe. "Y-you promise Auntie Yukari? That Mom will wake up and Gensokyo won't be so hurt anymore?"

Yukari ran her hand through Reimi's dark brown locks, giving a soft chuckle as she did so. "It will succeed. And I couldn't be any happier."

Afterwards, she stood up from her seat causing both Reimi and Suika to look up at her.

"However, I must leave immediately to make certain of its success. I will be back."

"A-ahh! W-wait Auntie Yukari!"

Reimi called out too late however, her arm outstretched to stop her.

"Oh… she forgot to drink her tea…"

Suika guffawed boisterously, causing Reimi to look at her in confusion.

"It just shows how much Yukari is motivated herself Reimi, don't worry about it. There are only a few times when Yukari is like this and when she is, she always gets what she wants done. It's been a while since I've seen her give that frustrating smile of hers like she knows everything that's going to happen. Not since the Lunarian Invasion.I almost feel sorry for this youkai faction."

"Why Auntie Suika? Is Yukari going to beat them up?"

"Nah. She won't, but she's doing one of the things she's best at. Setting up events that ends up the way she wants it."

xXx

"In short, I would like to hear thoughts and arguments from everybody on whether or not the council should approve of moving to Gensokyo." Yasaka finished before glancing at the council with expectations.

"Very well then. I shall begin." The Kappa representative stood up from his seat. "I approve of the notion to move to Yukari's Gensokyo."

"And why is that?"

"We are surrounded by enemies on all sides. Angels, Fallen Angels, and even the devils surround us on the outlying cities. The Kappa as a whole are not very powerful. We are growing weaker day by day and I fear that we will most likely be one of the first of the faction to cease to exist. That is why to protect ourselves, we must move to Gensokyo. I ask this on the behalf for the survival of the Kappa."

The Kappa bowed his head in respect, before sitting back down.

"Who will be next to present their reasoning?" Yasaka asked.

The representative from the Wolf Tengu stood up from his seat in response.

"I disapprove of the notion to move to Gensokyo." He stated in a rather gruff voice. "These are our ancestral homes. To leave Kyoto to the other factions sickens me. Instead of fleeing like cowards, we should stand our grounds and fight them instead. If we can overpower any of the factions, belief in the youkai will rise again and there will be no need to move to Gensokyo."

The Wolf Tengu representative sat down to the gentle murmurs of others. Some agreed that dying upon their homeland would be better. They would be remembered at the very least and it would be shameful to leave the land to another faction because they fled. Others voiced their concerns, willing to toss away their pride so long as they were to continue to live. They were weaker than the more militant Wolf Tengus and did not serve well as combatants.

"I also disapprove of the notion to move to Gensokyo." The representative from the nekomata stood up, his cat tails waving back and forth. "The Kyoto Magical Leylines are within Yasaka-sama. If she were to leave Kyoto long enough, the city would destabilize and explode. That is simply unacceptable and would kill too many. We of the nekomata will not leave so long as she or her kitsune cannot. Unless a solution can be done about this, it is our duty to stay to make sure such an incident cannot happen."

Assent followed these words. How could they possibly leave Yasaka, their leader, behind to save their own hides, especially with such catastrophe in their wakes? The youkai had more pride than that. Pride in their power and their actions were what defined some of the supernatural beings of the world.

"I approve of the notion to move to Gensokyo." The representative of the Monkey youkai stood up, a wizened face glancing at each member. "Though this is our home, and it saddens us of the monkey youkai to leave after being here for so long, it is simply fact that without action, we will cease to exist. We have attempted to gain exposure without too much risk, only to have failed at each one. We predict that within two or three decades, we will die."

Once again, whispers could be heard throughout the meeting room.

"Yukari Yakumo is a very old youkai, much older than many of us are. The fact that she is still alive raises concerns on what she wants from us, specifically, our involvement and cooperation should the Lunarians attack Gensokyo. However, it is also a testament to her power and prowess that she has managed to survive all these years as a youkai when we are now struggling to. Our youngest generation would not live beyond a century without a doubt. At the very least, if we are to ultimately stay, then our youngest should be allowed to move to Gensokyo. They would surely be safe there."

There were nods with many of the more cautious races agreeing with the representative. They had never met her personally, but there was nobody here who had not at least heard of Yukari Yakumo. She was the youkai who thought of the idea of creating Gensokyo with the help of the Hakurei members. She had been regarded as a lunatic by many, but in the end, she had the last laugh. After all, hardly any of those same youkai who had scoffed at her plan still existed today.

"However, what guarantee do we have to ensure our safety, let alone our children?" The Yuki-Onna stood up from her seat to object. "You, along with Yasaka-sama have both stated that the Lunarians have attacked Gensokyo. They barely fended them off and Yasaka-sama has stated that the reason for her engagement with us is to bring the youkai faction over to Gensokyo to replace the numerous lives lost. How do we know we are not simply trading one place where we will fade away for another where we will be killed instead? What if Gensokyo is too weak to defend us from another invasion?"

The debate continued. Some stated that an unknown fate was better than knowing a slow death that awaited them. Others said otherwise, fearing the unknown and choosing something they had at least known for years now. Throughout it all, Yasaka listened, judging.

She finally raised a hand to silence the council.

"Obviously, this is a decision that cannot be made lightly. Rightfully so as it involves Yukari Yakumo as well as our current existence." The nine-tailed fox representative and youkai faction leader stood. "I have heard from both sides and many races, and believe that each has argued with logical intent and reasoning. For the most part, we cannot be dismissed without coming to a solution. A compromise of sorts to not overextend our population and resources should one side not turn out for the better."

All of the representatives looked at her questioningly, silently wondering on what their leader had in mind.

"What I propose is this. Since we do not know how strong Gensokyo's residents currently are, we will be given a few representatives from Gensokyo. This way, they are able to demonstrate their strength to us, but also prove that they can protect us should the Lunarian's invade Gensokyo. We can have them in here in Kyoto and in the surrounding towns and cities to protect us." She looked to the more militant races who seemed to agree to those conditions.

"In the meantime, those races who would like to move into Gensokyo, should do so slowly under supervision from both sides. We do not want to push all the citizens into Gensokyo right away and it would be suspicious should the other factions find out that the youkai are suddenly disappearing. After some time, we can find out how and where we will live. We must be inconspicuous as to not draw so much attention while we make the transition." She turned her head to the races who were not as dedicated to fighting like the Kappa, who also seemed appeased for the most part.

"As for the Kyoto leylines, there is time before further discussion is needed. For now, we should handle the immediate transition." She finally turned to the Nekomatas who nodded in acknowledgement before continuing. "I will speak to Yukari privately. No one is to follow me and both she and I will both know if anyone is sent to shadow me. This meeting is dismissed."

xXx

"Fufu. I see you've returned, Yasaka. Do you have an answer?" Yukari asked, turning around while smiling with her parasol open over her shoulder.

Yasaka nodded, unsurprised to see Yukari already waiting at the, empty run down shrine overlooking both Kyoto and Kuoh town. It made sense seeing as she'd be one of the people to notice if something was knocking upon the Great Hakurei Barrier. The shrine was right next to the border of Gensokyo, thrumming with an almost untraceable and minute amount of holy energy. It seemed to be trumped by Yukari's power however; most likely because of the current situation in Gensokyo. It still mystified her that despite that being so, Yukari was smiling quite mysteriously.

"Don't tell me…" Yasaka said, successfully resisting her eyes widening. "You knew what our answer was going to be all along."

"Of course not." Yukari waved off dismissively, although the youkai faction leader didn't believe it for a second. "Although, this seemed like a likely scenario given who was still part of the Youkai council and who was leading it."

The nine-tailed fox, Yasaka, shook her head in disbelief. "Of course… Even when I know that you're Yukari Yakumo of all people, we still underestimate your intellectual prowess and play right into your hands."

Afterwards, she gave a stern look towards the youkai who would give them passage to Gensokyo.

"However, there is still the issue of the Kyoto leylines. I cannot leave for long, or die or it would be absolutely catas-." She stopped herself when she saw Yukari also waved her hand to shrug it off. "And you also have a solution to that, don't you."

That was said as a statement much more so than a question.

"Not an immediate one, per se. However, I know a few residents that are self-proclaimed magicians who would be quite knowledgeable about magical leylines. It would most likely take some time, but I'm sure they can come up with a solution for you."

Yasaka smiled wryly. "You think of everything, Yukari."

"I wouldn't be the way I am otherwise." She simply responded.

"So? If you already know what are our answer is then I'll simply get to the point." Yasaka briefly closed her eyes before bluntly asking. "Who are you going to send over to demonstrate to us that Gensokyo isn't weak despite the invasion? What plans have you made to handle our transition?"

"I have already taken volunteers to demonstrate Gensokyo's strength and I have tasked several individuals to handle the incoming wave of youkai that want to enter Gensokyo. Everything has been prepared." Yukari answered. "In fact, the people to both protect you as well as handle your situation with the leylines will be here quite soon."

Here, Yukari's smile turned ever so slightly feral, an intimidating predatory aura coming from it.

"I should warn you that I along with many others will not take well if anything should happen to them, as powerful as they are. I will intervene if I must."

"Very well. I will expect them within the week then." Yasaka said. "I will be sending the youkai that want to enter Gensokyo here under supervision. I assume you will supervising as well?"

Yukari tilted her head slightly, closing her eyes in complete confidence and her smile was replaced with a more open one. "I will personally make sure there are no entries we don't allow."

"Then I sincerely hope that this is not a decision that I nor the Youkai Council regret."

"Fufu. The one who has the most stake upon the success of it is not you though. You're knowledgeable enough to know whom I speak of." Yukari chuckled as she began walking back towards the broken shrine. "Until next we meet."

And with that, a gap opened momentarily to allow her and her Shikigami through before closing, cutting off any evidence that there was ever a conversation. Yasaka began making her way down the stone steps, intent on reaching Kyoto before nightfall. The Youkai faction was weak in comparison to the other groups and that was a fact that she and the others could not deny. She sincerely hoped that whoever was sent to demonstrate Gensokyo's strength was very powerful indeed.

* * *

 **A/N: Truth be told, I wrote this on sort of my writing muse. I was honestly very surprised to NOT see a story relating with these two sides. DxD has a youkai faction and Gnesokyo obviously does as well. How can an involvement never happen considering how Yukari in fandom and I think canonically leaves for the outside world frequently? Thanks to Kore wa Watashi and Sekai - The World for inspiring me to write this. I honestly have no idea if I should continue and how I can. If you guys do, let me know via PM or review or something along that matter. I'll start making an outline or whatever and try to progress while dealing with real life's situations. If not, then this will remain an eternal one-shot. Anybody can use this idea if they'd like as a basis or however if they want, but please PM me if you do. I've said it already, but please review on what could have been done better and if it's good idea to keep going. This is intended to sort of keep my writing skills up-to-date and not so rusty.**


	2. Chapter 2

Girls are Preparing. Please wait warmly.

"Thank you for coming." Yukari said as she looked upon the group gathered in front of the Hakurei Shrine. "I believe you all have your own reasons for joining, but I won't bother asking. I already know what they are. Some of you even feel the same as me."

Yukari gazed at the eyes of the whole group standing in front of her. Five members looked back at her with combinations of determined, seemingly uncaring, concerned and irritated. She paid no mind to the specifics.

"Wait a sec' Yukari." Marisa spoke up, frowning as she took a quick glance around the group. "You said there were six people. Where's the last one?"

"Ahaha, that's me!" Suika answered in jolly manner next to Yukari. "I'll be going with you guys!"

The others turned to her in a surprised manner, some more than others.

"You? You will be coming with us?" Patchouli asked with her usual soft frown. "I suppose we do need someone with physical power. An oni would be the perfect match."

"Ayayaya…" Aya beat her wings with gentle agitation. "Is this how dangerous this venture is? Has the outside world really changed that much?"

"I believe it's to secure our success, by sending some of Gensokyo's stronger residents." Alice pointed out before turning to the woman next to her. "Why are you here though Inaba-san?"

Reisen returned a small, reassuring smile. "Master asked me to come with you guys when Yukari-san requested someone from Eientei. She said she owed Reimu-san a debt for protecting Eientei and that the group would need someone with medical experience since we might get hurt."

Alice nodded.

Yukari cleared her throat "Before you leave, there are a few more things. There are some words a certain someone would like to say."

Reimi peeked out from behind Yukari's long dress. Her appearance invoked a stew of feelings: three parts guilt, two parts gentle understanding, and one part indifference.

"U-um…" Reimi stuttered, twiddling her fingers a bit shyly in front of the small crowd. "I-I know that Auntie Yukari asked you to do this for Mom. But please, don't die! I don't want to lose anyone else!"

An awkward silence flew overhead. Nobody spoke a word as Reimi turned her head to the ground with a beet red face before courageously looking back up.

"Mom would never want you to see any of you guys die for her sake. And I know some of you guys feel guilty that she's like this…" Reimi took a quick glance at said members who flinched. "But I know it's not your fault! So please, don't blame yourself!"

Unable to look at them in the eye any longer, she turned away. "Just… don't. No more. And come back, please."

As she finished, she bowed politely before heading back inside the Hakurei Shrine.

Marisa tilted her oversized witch hat and head downwards, covering her eyes and frown.

"She's pretty intuitive already, huh Yukari?" Marisa said in a low voice. "Guess that's the Hakurei line fer ya'."

"Yes. I'm uncertain on how strong that intuition of hers has completely manifested, but it is showing itself to be quite powerful already." Yukari answered quietly, purposefully tailored so that everybody heard regardless. "I have a few more words for you as well before you disembark."

She gave the most serious look that the group had seen thus far.

"Remember that impressing the Youkai Faction of Kyoto is pivotal to persuading them to come to Gensokyo; I will leave the method to you. The first and foremost priority, however, is to protect them from whatever dangers may come. Gensokyo's survival may very well depend on your success. Not only that, but Reimu has a high chance of recovery if enough faith is given to her by the youkai that come if this is successful. I have already delegated all the logistics to Ran and the kappa, Nitori Kawashiro. Sanae, Toyosatomimi no Miko, and Byakuren have all agreed to push the incoming youkai to give their faith to Reimu." Yukari stopped momentarily to take in the details as she briefed them. "I will check in once in a while, but be careful regardless. The other members of the supernatural of the Outside World are extremely powerful. Are there any questions?"

No one answered. Not even to question how she got all the different members of the various religions to assist Reimu's Shinto one.

"Then I wish you all the best of luck." She stated before gaps opened individually on each person.

Suika went last. "Take care of yourself, Yukari," she said before leaving. "Reimi's kind of a handful, but you know that already. And rest after this. You look like you need it." She waved goodbye as she finally vanished.

Just as Suika was gone, Yukari fell to her knees, breath quick and sweat cold on her face.

"Just this is enough to tire me out. I fear what support I can give will be very limited." She pushed herself to stand back up and looked to the evening sky. "Let all of Gensokyo hope that the hand I have shown will be enough to secure our safety."

xXx

"I have been expecting you," said Yasaka, nodding in acknowledgement. "You are the ones that Yukari sent?"

Patchouli spoke first. "Yes. And you are Yasaka-san?" The purple haired magician asked.

Yasaka nodded in response while Marisa turned to huff at the librarian.

"Hey Patchy! I was gonna answer her!" Marisa complained. "Why'd ya' go and do that?"

"Because if she didn't, then you would have left a bad impression for us," Alice responded promptly, sighing. "You've never been diplomatic as long as I've known you. Try and let us do the talking instead."

Marisa crossed her arms, huffing. "Hmph. Fine. And I can be diplomatic when I wanna be."

Suika laughed while Reisen and Aya gave a slight smile. Patchouli just sighed in annoyance.

Even Yasaka allowed a smile through. "Do not worry." Attention returned to Yasaka. You are guests of the Youkai Faction. As a long-lived youkai myself, I know myself the numerous quirks that powerful beings may have, though you may want to be more careful with the others. However, allow me to be the first to welcome you to Kyoto. May I have the honor of knowing your names?"

"Thank you very much Yasaka-san." Reisen bowed politely. "I'm Reisen Udonge Inaba, a moon rabbit. Pleased to meet you."

"Marisa Kirisame! Just an ordinary witch." She gave an energetic grin.

"My name's Suika Ibuki!" She waved her arms around, giving a jovial smile. "We should have a drink sometime!"

"I am Alice Margatroid. I am a Magician." The puppeteer bowed in respect.

"Patchouli Knowledge." She coughed in between her words. "I am also a Magician."

"Aya Shameimaru! Honest reporter of the Bunbunmaru Newspaper!" Her cheerful intro was met with gentle scoffs.

"I'm honored to meet you all as well. I am curious though. You two…" Yasaka switched off between eying Patchouli and Alice. "You appear to be very much human, yet you're not. You're both youkai, but I'm unable to discern any of your distinguishable features."

Alice spoke first. "While we appear human, we are youkai without any features such as wings or horns, Yasaka-san. Patchouli-san and I are known as Magician Youkai. However, we do not have the same physiology as most other youkai."

"Magicians do not possess the naturally enhanced physical strength and durability of most other youkai," Patchouli added. "In fact, we are generally frail even by human standards. I regret to inform you, but I am someone who is fairly sick unlike Alice."

"Interesting…" Yasaka muttered to herself. "You have a very diverse group. Oni, Tengu, Moon Rabbit, Human and now Magician youkai. I doubt Yukari would send someone unable to fend for themselves here. May I assume that Yukari has already notified that you or Alice will be researching on how to remove the leylines from me?"

Patchouli nodded. "Yes. We have been told. Both of us will be staying here in order to research that as well as guard you. I am unsure on what the others will do in the meantime."

"I see. Have you also been told about the other factions besides the youkai in Kyoto?" Yasaka asked.

"Nah. Not really. All we know is that most everybody else is stronger than you though," Suika stated bluntly. "That's what we're here for. We're some of the best there is!"

Yasaka nodded her head, allowing herself the smallest of giggles.

"Nonetheless, it would be foolish to send you out without any information. Therefore, I will tell you everything that I know. Please have a seat on a cushion as this may take a while." Yasaka offered, gesturing towards the red cushions placed on the wooden floor around the table. The Gensokyo group silently accepted the invitation.

"Now then…" Yasaka began, placing herself at the head of the table. "There are three other factions besides the Youkai Faction. Those are the Devil, Fallen Angel, and Angel Factions. They are the three major powers of the world as of this moment, each with their own leaders. A long time ago however, there was a great war that began between them. To this day, that war hasn't officially finished. A ceasefire has been called, but unofficial, minor conflicts still break out between the three. In the end, the Devils lost their four Maous, the strongest beings and leaders on their side along with several of their stronger members. The Heavenly Hosts were much of the same, losing most of their forces in the conflict. Finally, the Fallen Angels, who were formerly Angels, lost most of their forces except their leaders. To my knowledge, each of these factions cannot easily reproduce either and thus, they have been severely diminished. As a result, each side is hesitant to fight each other in an outright battle."

"The Heavenly Hosts. Is that to mean that the God of the Biblical Bible from the religions of Christianity does in fact exist?" Patchouli questioned.

"Yes. Though, he has not been seen in some time. He exists."

The sound of pencil scribbling furiously against paper drew everyone's attention.

"Aya-san, why are you writing all this down in your notebook?" Reisen quizzically asked. "Is this in case we forget? I doubt any of us will forget something so important."

Aya waved it off dismissively. "No, nothing like that. This is just for myself."

"What? Yer not gonna publish it here or somethin', are ya'?" Marisa asked, cocking an eyebrow at the tengu as she finished jotting down what she wanted.

"No comment." Aya replied with a small deadpan, although there was a hidden undercurrent of sadness.

Suika looked at her suspiciously, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly before deciding not to call her out.

Marisa shrugged. "Eh, whatever. Not my problem anyway."

"Continuing…" Yasaka interrupted before any more idle talk could continue. "It is said that the more wings any of these three factions have, the more powerful they are. Twelve is the highest count one can have and this applies to all the main factions thus far. Though there are very few of them, just one of them is said to be able destroy the nation of Japan several times over with their power."

The room went silent as Yasaka had expected. Anyone with power of that magnitude would shock anybody. However, the outbursts and reactions she expected from a few people in the room were nonexistent. She thought they would be more shocked to hear that they could possibly be taking on someone of that caliber but they didn't look the least bit scared. She took to observing the members of Gensokyo.

Both Patchoulil and Alice had discerning expressions. Yasaka didn't know how powerful they were, but they had said that they were physically weak. In that case, several of the other factions' members could easily defeat them in a fight were they to get close. For a moment, she doubted their capabilities before she remembered that Yukari Yakumo was involved. Again, she doubted that she would have sent anyone incapable of fighting back, even if they were only here to help remove the leylines from her. Physical strength was not everything either and both Magicians seemed very intelligent. Their calculative looks told Yasaka that maybe they were much stronger than they seemed if they didn't even look the least bit perturbed at her information. Thus, she'd withhold judgment on their strengths until she actually saw them in combat. Strategic and intelligent minds combined with magical power was a deadly combination.

The moon rabbit had a neutral look, giving absolutely nothing away from her body language. Was she also a similar case with Patchouli and Alice? Yasaka had no idea what a moon rabbit was capable of in the first place. Nonetheless, the most she could tell about Reisen was that she was as capable as an average youkai and that she clearly had some sort of power or skill that was enough to be sent over to Kyoto.

Suika, the oni, had a very significant change. She seemed jolly earlier, but now she looked deadly serious. The onis here in Kyoto no longer existed unfortunately. They were officially extinct, but Yasaka did not forget the physical power they wielded. Beneath her cheerful exterior, Yasaka knew, laid someone of immeasurable power who could probably level mountains with a single fist. The nine-tailed fox estimated that the oni was most likely one of their most powerful fighters and that to bring her along was the equivalent of bringing in an Ultimate-Class devil as 'reinforcements.'

Marisa was much of the same to a smaller degree. Energetic earlier, but now she only had a frown to her face. She was a human with magic, but she couldn't tell her level of mastery or just how much she had. The frown gave Yasaka some slight shivers mentally as she didn't look the least bothered on possibly defending the Youkai Faction of Kyoto from such a high level enemy. Could that possibly mean that Marisa had fought enemies like that for a long time now? That was the only explanation Yasaka could think of for the lack of a loud response that she had expected to hear seeing as Marisa was one the loud ones. It was that, or the possibility that the Lunarian War had hardened everyone so much that they were used to enemies of that level. For a human to survive that, this Marisa had to be incredibly powerful.

Finally, there was the tengu with the notebook and pencil. An interested smile, but one that didn't quite reach her face. If she had to take one guess at one of Aya's advantages, it would be her speed. Tengu as a whole were known for their incredible speed, more so if they were a crow tengu. It seemed that the Lunarian War had affected her very much if the undercurrent of sadness wasn't an illusion or a trick of the light. Could she have lost comrades or others important to her? The others, except the Oni it seemed, didn't notice the split second of grief that had showed in her voice. Either way, the same idea of all the others being powerful applied to her as well. If they were here, then they brought something important to the team and Yukari deemed them strong enough to trust them in the outside world.

One thing bothered her though. The Lunarian War that Gensokyo was involved in would bring veterans in fighting. That didn't mean the most stable people however and she was prepared for that. To even help them should they have needed it, if only in order to fulfill her purpose. She completely expected them to be emotionally detached or scarred. Anything that showed that the war had clearly hurt them in whatever way possible.

It wasn't there for most of them though.

Was it because none of them had experienced very much loss personally and only Yukari did? Or was it possible that they were all hiding their true emotions behind their cheerful exteriors? Marisa and Suika had all only become more serious when she mentioned how strong the enemies could possibly be and that wasn't a good indication of what they really felt. Only Aya obviously held some grief from the war. Other than her, the scars either never existed in the first place or they hid it well. She doubted they would answer truthfully if she asked on what their personal stake was for participating in the group and if they did, she had no way to validate it.

Yasaka decided to think upon this another time. For now, she decided that completing what she wanted to say before they believed her to be suspicious was necessary.

"As for the immediate area, Kuoh Town is the area closest to Kyoto, being only thirty minutes away with human transportation." Yasaka continued again. "Currently, it is occupied by a devil but we have no idea whom. While I detest doing so, leaving Kyoto for Gensokyo may be the best option for the future for the Youkai Faction of Kyoto. Therefore, I will assist when I can to help you impress the other youkai, although publically I must appear impartial."

She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts.

"If I may make a suggestion, scouting and spying in Kuoh Town would be a good start." Yasaka informed them. "I will leave the details on how you'd like to do so to you, bu-."

The sliding door leading to the meeting room slid open, revealing a three-tailed kitsune.

"What is it?" Yasaka asked somewhat coldly, frowning at the interruption.

The servant bowed respectfully before speaking. "Yasaka-sama. Forgive me for intruding, but the elders are calling for another meeting on plans involving moving the youkai who wish to move to Gensokyo. They request your presence."

Yasaka stood up from her seat gracefully, her long golden tails blossoming out. "Very well. I will be there immediately."

She walked to the door but stopped before completely exiting, turning towards the Gensokyo residents.

"If you wish to roam around the shrine then please don't hesitate to do so. I will be back momentarily and will send a servant to find each of you to come back here for further discussion." Yasaka turned and left, the servant shutting the door behind her.

A small silence set in before Marisa decided to break it.

"Well. Shrine's lot bigger than Reimu's, eh?" Marisa nudged Suika gently as the Oni eventually decided to uncork her sake gourd and drink out of it.

Suika laughed. "Course. Yukari had ta' slip in some donations for years to help her out. Even after Reimu got married and had Reimi, she still did it. Reimu never found out though."

Both Aya and Marisa turned to the horned youkai in shock.

"Wait what? Yukari did that?" Marisa asked, almost dropping her jaw.

"Enough, Marisa. Suika." Alice cut in. "Though we appreciate you speaking up first to break the silence, it would have been better if it were actually about what to do now that we are here."

"Tch." Marisa turned away, crossing her arms across her chest. "Wasn't like anybody was sayin' anything anyway."

Patchouli cleared her throat, ignoring Marisa's response.

"We now know where to start at the very least, thanks to Yasaka. Alice and I will have to stay here in order to figure out how we are going to remove the magical leylines from her. This will leave the four of you in charge of surveillance for Kuoh Town in the meantime." The sickly magician stated, coughing between every few words.

"Hey, why am I stuck just watchin' a town? Why can't I research with you guys?" Marisa eyed both Patchouli and Alice.

"Because we already have more than enough help here in Kyoto," Alice reasoned. "We don't need anybody else and in terms of raw magical power, you are amongst one of the most powerful in case something goes wrong in Kuoh Town. Also, you would cause something to explode or something along that manner if you helped us."

"I would not!" Marisa denied boldly. "Maybe."

Alice looked unimpressed. "Marisa, I've known you for a long time as a friend. You even tell me about some of the magical experiments that explode in your house. We can't allow that to happen here."

Once again, the group could hear Aya's rapid writing in her notebook and Marisa turned to her with a minor scowl.

"Would ya' stop that? Ya' better not put this in yer third-rate rag!" Marisa said as Aya completely disregarded her anyway. "Ahh whatever! Fine! I'll do whatever we need. Happy?"

Alice finally smiled at her companion in a more controlled fashion. "Thank you Marisa."

"If we're going to spy in Kuoh Town, we should have a place to stay too." Reisen added. "We could open a small clinic in Kuoh to stay at. We can get information easily this way too, helping other patients. If any of us get hurt, I could also have supplies on hand immediately to take care of it."

"Not a bad idea." Suika agreed. "Where we gonna get everything though? Don't we need money or something like that?"

Reisen nodded, red eyes turning towards the sliding door Yasaka went through earlier. "We could ask Yasaka-san for finances. With how she acted, I'm sure she'd agree. If not, Marisa-san could steal some."

"Speaking of which," Patchouli promptly interjected, "I would still like my stolen books back Marisa. I've already told you that I have no intention of lending you any more books yet you still come to my library."

Marisa scratched her head sheepishly. "Hehe. I didn't steal 'em. I'm just borrowin' them. 'Sides, you live way longer than I do anyway. Just get 'em from my house after I kick the bucket!"

Though Patchouli glowered heavily, she decided not to say anything.

"In any case, it seems our plan has come together." Alice commented. "Aya and Suika will spy for us in Kuoh Town. Their abilities make them effective for that manner. Marisa and Inaba-san will stay at their clinic and keep ears out for anything suspicious events from word of mouth. I believe this is an effective strategy. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah. What's gonna be our team name?" Marisa asked.

Alice raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Our… team name?"

"Hey. That's a good idea. We should have a team name. We don't want to keep calling ourselves, that group, you know." Aya chipped in.

"Yeah. That don't sound half-bad." Suika joined in too. "We should have a name!"

"Hmm… how 'bout Team Gensokyo? We _are_ all from Gensokyo after all." Reisen pointed out.

"What!?" Marisa responded in shock. "That's way too simple! Come on! We need something more exciting!"

"If we allow you to name it Marisa, you would name it something ridiculous." Alice said. "I vote for Team Gensokyo."

"Second! Now I can put this on my newspaper!"

"Third! Let's drink ta' it!"

"That makes four people Marisa-san. The majority wins." The rabbit-eared girl smiled mischievously at the human.

"Wait a sec'. Patchouli didn't even vote!" Marisa tried futilely to object to the decision. "Come on Patchy! Help me out!"

"No. And I don't care." Patchouli said in the flattest tone possible.

Suika laughed boisterously while Marisa dropped her head in false depression.

"Haha! I guess we're Team Gensokyo now!"

* * *

 **A/N: Well, I guess I've got enough motivation to do this. Most of the reason this chapter took so long was because I didn't know how I wanted this to progress. When you involve politics, everything becomes really complicated. To others, it's easy for them. For me? It's a completely different story and I have to work around that. Also, the thing with Touhou characters is that unless they're characters shown in the games or in the books, it can be difficult to get a feel for what they're like so it's hard to write them at times. However, it also gives you liberty with how you want to write them. One good example is Momiji. To my knowledge, she doesn't even get dialogue, nor do we see her talk in any of the written works. It's a pro in that you can write her however you like and a con in that you have nothing canon to refer to, unlike Reimu or Marisa.**

 **This chapter in particular, gave me a very difficult time and despite it being necessary, I disliked it. If anything could have been done better or whatever, please let me know by reviewing, PM'ing me, etc. Thanks to my Beta Xavic for fixing up all this for me. He IS on this site so you can go look him up if you want. This was a gruesome chapter to write for me and it's hard to write conversations with an entire group like this. Nonetheless, I suppose I can officially declare that this story is underway. I hope you enjoyed my efforts anyway!**


	3. Chapter 3

Initial Maneuvers

Two weeks eventually passed after the arrival of Team Gensokyo with events quickly occurring. Thanks to Yasaka, an estate was bought in Kuoh Town and the team was funded to buy themselves the necessary equipment to run it. Alice and Patchouli had both stayed back in Kyoto to begin researching on how to detach Yasaka from the Kyoto magical leylines while the scouting maneuvers quickly went underway.

It had taken a small amount of time for the Kuoh team to adjust to the new environment. Reisen and Aya were both unhindered at the sudden change of the technological level of the outside world compared to Gensokyo's. After all, Reisen was a moon rabbit originally from a society that had superior technology in the first place. Aya worked closely with the Kappa of Gensokyo and become somewhat skilled at handling modern technology. Suika wasn't particularly affected either as the most she did was nap, drink more sake, or ask for alcohol from the outside world. Marisa was the most affected. Instead of some small fire area for the pot or cauldron, food could be cooked on a 'stove' which Reisen had tried to explain to everyone what it was. Marisa complained it was easier to just set up a fire place for everything before Reisen had explained that the stove could have multiple areas to heat up and cook items.

It had caused some amazement for the witch. Enough that she tried to use it, only to cause the stove to blow up somehow and force the team to buy a new one. Marisa was banned from ever using anything that resembled technology again.

As for the clinic, there were hardly any patients that came by as it was new and thus, information had mainly come from scouting and spying in the form of Suika and Aya. Suika dispersed herself into mist and floated around the entire town with an eye on almost everything possible as long as she stayed in that form. Aya, able to hide her black crow wings, simply walked around to take notes as well as pictures on her camera while remaining inconspicuous as best as she could. It worked out quite well as the two of them hadn't been caught to their knowledge and thus, they managed to confirm what Yasaka had said about a devil being in the town. There was way more than one devil as Aya and Suika had found out though.

As far the team knew, the devils they found all went to Kuoh Academy. There were two different groups which were led by two different people as well although they interacted with each other frequently. The first leader Suika and Aya had found was Rias Gremory, who looked a bit similar to Koakuma although her breasts were unbelievably bigger. The other one was less obvious though and Suika had stumbled upon her by accident that turned out in their favor as Rias had been meeting her at the time. Sona Shitori, as the other students named her, was the other devil leader and was something called a 'student council president' although both spying youkai had absolutely no idea what that meant. Thus, they assumed it was just some pointless leadership position.

They seemed to pose no threat so far and they even seemed to be content with their regular activities of attending school. On occasion, the two of them performed some nighttime activities which was a prime time for even more information gathering for the two youkai spies. One of them was stray devil hunting in which Rias or Sona would lead their team of devils to hunt for monster-like creatures. Apparently, they were devils who killed or ran away from their master and without them to keep their powers in check, became a threat. Thus, they were slated to be killed.

Aya secretly photographed their powers as well as their entire group while they were too busy fighting with an enemy. She was almost caught at one point as Sona seemed to be very cautious, but she wasn't detected. Based on what they displayed so far, both devil groups posed very little threat to the Youkai Faction of Kyoto by themselves, and even less to Team Gensokyo but they did each have their own powers. The blond boy Yuuto Kiba for example, could create swords of some kind with a singular effect and was rather quick in terms of speed. When compared to Youmu however, Aya didn't think he wasn't worth too much notice.

Akeno Himejima was a user of thunder, Suika lazily noted. Dangerous, but her movements made it easy to avoid for anyone fast enough which would be most youkai with their enhanced bodies and reflexes.

Rias Gremory rarely fought, but her wave of magic disintegrated and completely destroyed whatever it touched. Aya made sure to take good pictures of that as even in Gensokyo, it would be considered a threat should the user become powerful enough.

Koneko Toujou was an interesting member of Rias' group, both Aya and Suika had told the team. They were very sure that she was a youkai although they didn't know what kind until she revealed whatever traits she had. What she was doing with Rias, they didn't know but her powers in physical strength seemed moderate. Aya teased that someone like Marisa who was completely human, would struggle at a close combat encounter. The witch argued that someone like that wouldn't take more than a minute to beat. After all, Meiling of the Scarlet Devil Mansion was a youkai _and_ a master martial artist who continuously failed to keep Marisa out of the Scarlet Devil Mansion whenever she was on a burglary run. If Meiling couldn't defeat her, she highly doubted Koneko could.

While it was true that Marisa wouldn't be able to fight as effectively at close range as she would medium or far ranged, that had been forced to be rectified by Meiling's mastery of close range combat that still gave Marisa pause. She was forced to become good at fighting back in those disadvantageous conditions whenever Meiling managed to close the distance between them, or risk defeat. On top of that, Aya informed Marisa that Koneko seemed to be much slower than Meiling whom was supremely faster and stronger. Then there were her duels with Reimu, who had become even more skilled with using her Hakurei powers to enhance her physical skills over the years when she was actually motivated to train. Thus, her commonly assumed weakness in physical fights had ceased to exist.

Unfortunately, none of the other seven members of Sona's group had showcased their unique power against a stray devil and were still unknowns.

The other activity the two groups mainly partook in were various contracts made by humans which was harmless for the most part. It mostly involved fulfilling requests for a human that had requested the services of a devil. Said requests ranged from having someone to talk to just wearing strange clothing as Koneko was often asked for. There were obscure, as well as more suggestive ones here and there but none of them had involved fighting.

Aya was the one regularly sent to divulge all the information gained to Kyoto. Already, some of the youkai seemed impressed in how they were undetected while able to gather this much information. The more militant ones were still adamant in not fully committing to leaving and remained unimpressed, arguing that kitsunes could do the exact same thing they did, being masters of illusions and trickery.

Ran had only appeared at the clinic once to check up on them upon Yukari's request due to being too busy handling the safe, yet slow transition of the Youkai Faction to Gensokyo as the distance between Kyoto and the border to Gensokyo was somewhat far. She assured them everything was proceeding well and to keep doing what they were doing.

As the majority of the job had mostly been left to Aya and Suika, Marisa was becoming anxious.

"So bored! There's nothin' to do around here!" Marisa complained loudly, watching Reisen shelf away some medicine. "What's the point of even bein' here anymore? The devils here are weak!"

"Marisa-san," Reisen sighed for the umpteenth time, "Suika-san and Aya-san are both still out trying to find out more information. Two weeks isn't enough and we still don't know what Sona can do. As long as we don't know how strong she or her group is, we can't leave. Alice has also asked that we stay to keep away any threats to the youkai faction."

"Nobody here's strong enough to make us sweat anyway, so what's the point? And what's her name ain't gonna reveal it by herself. We gotta do something to make it happen! Just have one of us fight her and she'll have ta' take us seriously, right?" Marisa tried to reason although Reisen looked indifferent to her logic.

"If we reveal ourselves Marisa-san, then we will become known by others of the supernatural world and attention is not what we need," Reisen countered. "You're honestly starting to sound like that celestial from Heaven."

"What, you mean Tenshi? The one who wrecked Reimu's shrine?" Marisa asked for confirmation, receiving a nod from Reisen. "And aren'tcha just trying to stop talkin' about what we should do? Least you could do is not make it so obvious."

"It was worth a try at least." Reisen shrugged unapologetically. "But, yes her."

Marisa laughed boisterously. "Ahh yeah. I could never forget that incident. Reimu was so angry that she just beat up everybody she met!"

"And I was one of them. She never apologized for it either." Reisen pouted.

Marisa waved it off dismissively. "That's just how she works anyway! Shoot first! Ask questions later!"

The moon rabbit graced the witch with an unimpressed look. "Like you?"

"Yup! Like me!" Marisa didn't even bother hiding the grin she felt at the similarity. "That was one of the biggest parties after an incident too! Even Tenshi was invited after she helped rebuild the shrine."

"It only feels like yesterday, but it was really years ago…," Reisen sounded reminiscent as she recalled the massive party for the successful rebuilding. "Somehow, I feel old. After all the incidents and everything that's happened, I understand a bit why Reimu-san feels lazy."

Marisa's energetic recollection instantly gave way to a very glum look. "Well… I'm gettin' close to fourty-one, but yeah. I see yer point. Especially after the Lunarian War..."

"Marisa-san?" Reisen frowned, sensing the rapid atmospheric and mood change. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine." Marisa answered slowly. "It's just… When you said you felt old, I kinda feel the same way. Lookin' at Reimi and all, she's already ten. It's hard. Seein' Reimi while Reimu's like that. It always reminds me of what happened. And watchin' Reimu everyday afterwards…"

Reisen didn't really know what to say to that other than an acknowledging 'ahh.'

"Ya' know. Watchin' all the youkai get killed like that. It made me realize that you guys can die too. It just doesn't really come ta' mind when we think about yer age." Marisa paused momentarily to gather her thoughts on what to say. "But I definitely didn't think Reimu would end up like that."

"Why's that?"

Marisa answered briskly. "'Cause she's always been one step ahead of me when it comes ta' duels. As soon as I think I catch up ta' her, she trains a little bit more and then she's better again. When that happens for a while, it's hard ta' think of her losin', let alone dyin' ta' anyone."

"I suppose that's true. Her survival is pivotal to the Great Hakurei Barrier after all. Even the youkai don't dare take the opportunity to kill her," The purple haired girl added in.

"Exactly." Marisa nodded her head. "So I didn't think anything would happen to her and focused on what Yukari told us ta' do. We all had our own thing ta' do to survive. Probably one of the first times that everybody banded together under Yukari ta' win."

A gesture of agreement came from Reisen again. "I remember. Yukari entering every single area of Gensokyo to ask for help in the fight. Even the fairies accepted."

"Yep. With everybody together like that, there's no way we'd lose anybody." Marisa chuckled with false optimism before continuing in a depressed tone. "I couldn't believe it when Alice told me that Reimu was so badly hurt tryin' ta' evacuate everyone from the shrine. Then she ended up in that coma. We won. But look at us. We're barely hangin' on. Heck, I'm barely holdin' on myself."

Reisen cocked an eyebrow, frowning at Marisa's out of character pessimism.

"You? You look like you've been the most optimistic in this group."

Marisa shook her head. "That's just 'cuz I need somethin' to focus on or I'd fall apart. Reimi told us not ta' feel guilty, but I still do and I can't help it. She's too nice to hate anybody, just like Reimu. It doesn't make me feel any better."

She stopped momentarily before continuing.

"I'm her best friend, ya' know? One of the ones who knew her best and I let her end up like that? Can't even imagine how Yukari feels every day."

A soundless single tear dropped to the floor and Reisen remained silent in respect to the ordinary witch.

"I… After we won, I didn't leave my house for a while. Alice even stayed with me for a couple days so I wouldn't do anything stupid." Marisa's voice cracked as a few more tears descended down her face, though she fought through slowly to finish. "So when Yukari told me about the group she was plannin' to assemble to help Gensokyo and Reimu, I couldn't believe that either. Didn't even take a second for me to accept whatever she needed and I asked Alice if she could help me. Course she said yes too the moment I asked. Now though, I'm scared what Reimu will say ta' us after when we pull through. I'm scared how she'll look when I see her back up and not in that bed that I visit with Alice."

Marisa wiped away her tears with her white sleeve and looked at Reisen with an intense gaze.

"But, I wanna see Reimu up again more than anything and I'll protect whatever she left behind. Including Gensokyo and Reimi. I wanna see Reimi smile more often and I know she'll do that if Reimu wakes back up. Then we'll have another big party like before the war. We'll all be happy again and maybe I won't feel so guilty anymore too. That's why no matter what, I'm gonna make sure this works out. Not just fer me, but for everybody else like Reimi and Yukari. And… I'll just hope she'll forgive me for screwin' up like that."

Her tone was soft, very much out of character from what Reisen had seen. Yet, it held a resolute drive as well as a goal that she could follow.

"Sorry. Didn't mean ta' ramble like that. Ya' hardly even know me all that well. Worked together yeah, but personally if ya' get what I mean." She scratched her head sheepishly.

"No. It's OK. I understand. I think everybody forgets that underneath your ordinary witch exterior, we forget that you're only a human. One of the most powerful humans, but a human with emotions and flaws just like everybody else."

Reisen decided to speak up. She felt it was only fair that Marisa heard why she was part of the team, seeing as the latter silently shed tears while explaining hers.

"I wasn't very close to Reimu-san like you, but I do know a bit how you feel," Reisen admitted softly. "Master was very frustrated after that evacuation. I'd never seen her so angry before. Ever."

Marisa looked at her questioningly. "Eirin? Angry? Never thought I'd hear that."

Reisen gave a wry grin. "Yes. Just don't tell Master that I told you this. I'm here to mainly provide you medical assistance in case any of us get hurt like she requested, but Eientei as a whole, myself included, all owe Reimu-san for protecting us just as much as any other Gensokyo resident. And you may not know, but a debt from Master is incredibly rare and I don't exaggerate when I say that it is probably the equivalent of being owed a debt from a Goddess."

Marisa nodded to show she was listening.

"I love Gensokyo very much. Master may not show it, but she does as well. Everybody has treated me very well and I owe it to both her and Gensokyo that I'm still alive. It'd be very shameful of me to not help Gensokyo and Master when they both need it. Master knows that Reimu-san has a heart that cannot truly hate and wants peace. Despite her originating from the Moon, she knew Reimu-san never held it against her or blamed her when the Lunarians invaded. So, I'm here for both Gensokyo and to help Master."

"Huh…" Marisa trailed off. "That's it? Was sorta expectin' more from ya.' Some dark sappy story like me."

"My story or reason of why I'm here isn't as dramatic as yours Marisa-san. Sorry." A joking smile from Reisen was given to Marisa. "Still… I think I understand you better Marisa-san. I hardly know you personally, but I'm thankful that you're part of Team Gensokyo."

"Yeah?" Marisa grinned back. "Well, yer not so bad either Reisen."

"I could say the same for you, Marisa-san." Reisen replied. "So, let's work well together."

She extended her hand out for a handshake which Marisa promptly shook with gusto.

"Yeah. Let's do our best."

xXx

Mist floated around above the school as Suika's consciousness took in the sights around Kuoh Academy.

"Matsuda! Motohama! Let me take a peek as well!"

"Ohhhh! Those breasts! This is truly heaven!"

"We're so lucky!"

Words of that nature were routine whenever Suika's scattered mist form observed the surroundings. Her scattered consciousness allowed her to be in multiple places at once and as a result, she witnessed random events throughout the day such as this one. Sure, spying on Rias and Sona was top priority and she was already doing that. A small section of her mist and consciousness had split from her to keep an eye on the both of them. However, it was getting to the point where constant spying duty was getting monotonous and boring. She watched them tirelessly, but it was beginning to be the same routine now. Both devil groups would attend classes to learn what looked like harder versions of subjects taught here than at Keine's school, Suika reckoned. Afterwards, the both of them would mostly stay in their perspective areas. Rias, a spacious western like mansion room which reminded Suika of Remilia's Scarlet Devil Mansion and Sona in what was called the Student Council Room. In her opinion though, it didn't look all that much different than a regular classroom.

Alice had asked them to stay in Kuoh in order to take care of any oncoming threats before they directly reached Kyoto. Since Kuoh was a border town near Kyoto, Suika saw it as a wise plan of action. However, they needed something drastic to happen to show the more militant youkai that Gensokyo was still powerful despite the Lunarian Invasion. The easiest thing to do would have just been to beat the hell out of the devils here to show their strength, but even that wasn't a guaranteed success as the ones here in Kuoh she was currently spying on weren't all that powerful anyway. Plus, if they did that, then Suika and Alice were both sure that the Youkai Faction would become placed under scrutiny. If the factions discovered that they were moving to Gensokyo, then a battle for land grab on Kyoto could possibly occur between them in order to take advantage of the latent magical leylines of Kyoto.

Team Gensokyo was strong, Suika knew, but it'd be impossible for them to win. Everyone had their limits after all.

The other method Alice suggested was to wait until the opposing resistance against moving to Gensokyo were the last ones to be moved to Gensokyo. It would be a very slow method, but eventually ensured success and if nothing happened to the Youkai Faction in that time. Then, even the militant youkai couldn't deny that Gensokyo had done a good job protecting them, even if it wasn't as showy as they wanted it to be.

Time-consuming, yet effective in the end. It was the true definition of slow and steady.

Thus, Suika was still relegated to spying duties. It was easy and very safe with so little risk with the nature of her power. But it was repetitive and tiresome to no end.

"It's the perverted trio again!"

"Ahh! Run! Run!"

"W-wait for me! I don't wanna die here!"

"Stop! Don't let them get away!"

Luckily, events like watching the apparently named Perverted Trio get bashed over the heads with kendo swords was much more fun than watching Rias and Akeno sipping some tea. It certainly helped to ease her boredom.

"Agggghhhhhhhhhhhh!" The one named Issei, she found out, screamed as he was physically tormented while his friends abandoned him and escaped with their lives.

Especially when watching amusing things like this.

Throughout the beating, she noticed a small magical signature and Suika's nonphysical head looked up as she noticed an observer on Issei besides herself. The small contingent of mist that had broken from her informed her that it was Rias that was also watching Issei.

This was an action that was more recent with her. She didn't know why yet, but she assumed it was because she wanted him for the group she had. Suika personally thought that he didn't look very strong though and she couldn't find anything interesting about him that warranted Rias' attention. He was perverted and had an unnatural obsession with breasts, but was there something to him that she was missing?

Maybe she knew something that she didn't?

Suika mentally noted that watching Issei and Rias more closely might be a good idea. It didn't seem like Sona was going to show any more information anyway without some kind of bait or incentive.

As the mist followed Rias into the old school building, Suika noticed a door that was shut and clustered with seals and magic. Magic she wasn't familiar with and a powerful one at that to the point where she couldn't slip through under it.

Suika mentally frowned.

This meant that there was something very powerful being held here. It reminded her a bit of the situation with Flandre Scarlet of the Scarlet Devil Mansion who was locked in the basement most of the time.

If she could reform herself, she'd be able to simply break the door down with very little difficulty. However, Akeno, one of the so called Great Ladies of Kuoh was seated in the room and she didn't want to be caught. Thus, it was best to leave it alone for now. If it was sealed, then maybe it was too risky for even the devils. She doubted she could repair the magic seals on the door anyway if she decided to destroy it.

"Hmm?" Akeno perked up, glancing over in Suika's direction.

Uh-oh.

"Ara ara, Is someone there?" The devil asked as she looked around the room curiously in search of the magical signature she felt earlier.

"Akeno? Is something wrong?" Rias asked, as she looked over to her friend.

"No. Nothing's wrong Rias," Akeno replied, kindly smiling back.

That was a sign to sneak away and come back another time. Hopefully when Akeno was too busy. Suika shifted out the window before she could be completely detected and left the Academy. There was no need to stay and further risk detection.

Besides, the day was slightly different and more productive as she now had one more person to watch whose antics were amusing with him running around in his quests for breasts. This would be more fun than stalking Sona for the entire day anyway.

xXx

"I don't remember this group being here before. Must be a new one," Aya commented to herself as she observed a group of humans walking towards an abandoned church in the woods. Her camera flashed multiple times as Aya snapped photos of them. Some for herself and some for extra proof for the Gensokyo Team when she reported back to them on what she found.

There had been some close calls in where she was nearly caught, but the trees hid her presence and obscured the vision enough that her pursued targets thought she was just a crow.

Well, they weren't necessarily wrong technically speaking.

The strange thing she found was that the humans seemed to be aware of the supernatural world. Otherwise, she doubted that they would be following the much smaller group of people in the front with black angel wings. It looked willing and she didn't see any sign of coercion or prisoners or any of those signs.

She swapped her camera for her tengu notebook and pencil and quickly wrote down what she had so far observed from the moderately sized human group.

"Fallen angels then?" She muttered to herself as she snapped another photo from above. "They're not youkai that I know of. This is getting interesting…"

She swapped her camera for her notebook and pencil, quickly writing down what she was seeing. The humans were all wearing priest garbs and though it was difficult to see, they had weapons in the form of a white gun with a long barrel as well as some sort of yellow hilt for a sword. It didn't look like it had a blade however. The fallen angels in front was led by someone in front with long black hair and a scanty outfit that left little to the imagination. In fact, most of it appeared to be black leather.

Eventually, they reached the church and opened the massive wooden doors. The majority of the assembly moved into the church while leaving a few outside which she assumed was for some patrol or guard in case someone came upon them. As they filed in, she eventually she saw their lips moving which meant conversation and seeing as the amount of people had lessened considerably which lowered the risk, she decided to get closer to eavesdrop.

"Ugh, d'you see that guy earlier?" One of the exorcist complained.

Aya's eyes raised in wonder as she closed the distance between them, making sure to avoid making too much noise.

"Freed Sellzen? The genius exorcist? Who hasn't noticed the guy with white hair flirting with our boss while cackling madly to himself?" Another sarcastically responded.

"You don't have to be so rude about it," The first one replied.

"He's got a point though. Why the hell did Raynare bring him along? It doesn't make any damn sense." A third exorcist stated as he brought out a cigarette to smoke. "He's obviously insane. You've gotta be stupid to be near him, let alone work with him. I know I ain't gonna."

"At least the others don't look so bad." The first exorcist that spoke tried to sound hopeful. "Most of us know each other already except, you know. Mittelt looks like she could be my younger sister. Kalawarner has breasts that anyone would kill for and Dohnaseek isn't that bad a guy. Little crazed for battle and a little scary since he's really tall, but someone I could probably sit down with for a cup of coffee without having to worry whether I'll get killed or not."

Now this was a scoop! Aya smiled to herself as she wrote down the names they said. Most likely, judging by what they said, the five specific names she got were the more well-known ones. Freed was clearly an exorcist like them who was touched in the head while the others were either much stronger than them or the fallen angel group in the lead before they went inside the church. She mentally congratulated herself for a successful spying run.

The question now was whether this was enough information to go off of.

Aya mentally shook her head. She wasn't caught yet and she was confident that in the case she was, she could easily get away.

"Any idea why we're here in this city though guys? I hear this is supposed to be devil territory. I don't wanna stick around for too long," the first exorcist asked another.

"I dunno all the details. Somethin' like trying to impress Azazel by bringing Sacred Gears to him after killing their owners."

"S-Sacred gears? And Azazel? Governor General of the Grigori? I dunno Leo. Maybe we should bail. Messing with them is bad news."

"Relax bozo. We're only gonna be here for a couple a' weeks then we're outta here." The third exorcist shrugged away the worries the first exorcist had. "'Sides, from what I heard, there's two sacred gear users. The first is some kid in high school who doesn't even know he's got one. The other is coming right to us with a healing one who can't even fight. You can't seriously be worried about two people like that."

"Oh." He sighed in relief. "That does sound a bit better."

"Geez, what kinda exorcist are you who gets scared like that?"

"Well, we're all exiled so… an exiled exorcist?"

The third exorcist face-palmed. "You're an idiot. Ya' know that?"

"Well, it's not like he doesn't know after you've told him fifty times on the plane where we're going." The sarcastic exorcist finally spoke up, shrugging his shoulders. "Makes you wonder what the hell he did to get exiled in the first place."

"Hey! Stop making fun of me guys! I'm not that bad!"

Without even looking, Aya sensed an incoming presence and an attack from above. She leapt away off the branch she was on as a spear made of light whizzed past her and stabbed itself into the ground. Though her dodge was successful, she ended up in the clear, revealing herself to the group of exorcists whom she was eavesdropping earlier.

All three of them raised their guns at her in a threatening fashion.

"Who are you!?"

"Uh-oh, I've been caught," she declared out loud as she sensed someone coming from behind her as well, attempting to cut off her escape.

"We've had a spy roaming around watching us."

A gruff voice said from behind and she turned to the tall middle-aged man walking out from near her hiding place. He wore a gray trenchcoat over a white dress shirt along with a black fedora covering his short black hair. In his hand was a blue light spear that was the same one that had tried to pierce her earlier.

Dohnaseek, Aya thought, based on what the exorcists described.

Next to him was a much shorter girl with blond hair styled into twintails sporting a black Lolita dress. She was relaxed, almost as if she believed that there was no chance that Aya could get away.

Mittelt, Aya assumed. She certainly fit the description of looking like the exorcist's sister. A girl who was about 145 centimeters or so.

In other words, she was a midget.

"It's pretty annoying and impolite when you attack someone who hasn't done anything to you, you know." Aya pouted in an easy manner.

"Well, you shouldn't have been here in the first place!" Mittelt countered as she formed a pink light spear in her hand. "So? Who are you? You're obviously not human if you could dodge our attack without even looking. And how long have you been here?"

"Me?" Aya pointed at herself before raising her pencil and tengu notebook in front of her attackers. "I'm just an honest reporter, covering a story!"

That only seemed to infuriate Mittelt ever so slightly.

"The way you dodged though. Can you fight?" Dohnaseek asked, a small hint of interest in his voice.

She gave no answer, switching her pout to the most pure and innocent smile she could muster as a crow tengu.

"You're fast at the very least." Dohnaseek complimented before turning to the exorcists. "Don't interfere! She's ours. You don't stand a chance."

Though reluctant to do so, they obeyed by lowering their weapons. Deciding that they were unneeded, they backed up closer to the church to stay away from what they knew would be an onslaught of attacks.

Dohnaseek lobbed another light spear at Aya's head who just tilted her head to the side, watching it shoot pass her harmlessly. It stabbed itself firmly into the church wall behind her.

"Spear from fallen angels aren't very fast. Should be able to be easy to evade for anyone who has fought under Spell Card Rules…," Aya muttered to herself, quickly writing down more of her speculations on the most recent attack.

Deciding to take advantage of her seemingly lack of attention, Mittelt joined in tossing light spears one after another at the crow tengu. To her surprise, a set of black crow wings emerged from her back and she leapt into the air. Once again, the light spears harmlessly flew under her.

"Multiple spears can be thrown…," Aya continued saying repeating to herself as she jotted down more notes. "And each spear looks unique to the holder…"

"Are you even paying attention!?" Mittelt shouted, peeved at her actions.

Her annoyance was only further cemented as she fell victim to the flash of a camera coming from Aya who had apparently taken her picture.

"Aggh!" She shrieked, revealing her own set of black angel wings before taking to the sky. Dohnaseek's eyes narrowed, following his companion.

Completely ignoring her two incoming attackers, she continued to dodge the light spears thrown at her with compete ease while continuing to pen down her thoughts. A shift to the left here and to the right there and allowed to remain completely unscathed throughout the barrage.

Aya continued thinking to herself as she evaded to the unrelenting assault on her with virtually no difficulty. Was this the strength of a fallen angel with only two wings? It seemed to be a complete joke and it would definitely be amongst the lowest in her opinion. It would beat a fairy easily and a human if they had no idea what to expect and couldn't fight properly. Then came former Cirno level and while incredibly strong on fairy levels, enough to match weak youkai, still weak in general. The new Cirno level had her actually able to take on youkai to a much more even degree and even some of Gensokyo's stronger residents.

Such was the consequence of a war that had involved everyone within Gensokyo. Fairies were no exception, forced to become stronger or be killed repeatedly. Cirno had chosen the former, asking various others for help in improving and had eventually become powerful enough to actually become a frontline fighter. Her intelligence had even been forced to rise and fortunately, she didn't go mad under the pressure placed upon her. Especially after Aya recalled Cirno witnessing several of her friends dying and reviving over and over. The resolve she had was stunning at the time as she declared that she would form a strong team to help everybody.

Aya shook her head. There was no point thinking about the Lunarian Invasion anymore. Now was the time to move on and tend to the aftermath as best as possible.

"I don't think Cirno is a good comparison anymore…," Aya said to herself, mindlessly avoiding another volley of light spears. "I think greater fairy or weak youkai will work."

That seemed about right. Using Spell Card Rules, the amount of danmaku that one faced was generally a good signal of someone's strength. The spear had decent speed, but ultimately only counted as a single 'bullet.' It was easy to track and dodge with enough experience in spell card duels.

She decided to put that down in her notebook as well.

"Why aren't you fighting back?" Dohnaseek asked, stopping his attack as he frowned unhappily. "This isn't exciting at all."

"Well, my bullets would get in the way if I wanted to take a picture. Like this!" Aya raised the camera quickly and took his picture.

"Gahh!" He flinched at the flash covering his eyes momentarily and as he turned to hurl another spear at her, she was quickly flying away into the distance.

"Bye! I've got everything I need! Thank you for your time!" She turned her whole body around, continuing to fly backwards while waving to them in a polite gesture.

"Stop her! Don't let her escape!" He commanded his female companion as they tried to chase after her.

It was ultimately futile. Whenever it felt like they got closer, she suddenly sped up and she would be out of range of their light spears.

"How is she so fast!?" Mittelt shrieked as she pushed herself to her absolute limit to catch up to the crown tengu to no avail.

Finally, Aya was nothing but a black speck in the sky and the fallen angel duo were forced to break pursuit.

"What the hell was that!? We couldn't even hit her and she didn't even take us seriously!" Mittelt stated, turning to Dohnaseek in anger. "What the hell was she?"

"A fallen angel as well?" He answered before shaking his head to reject what he said. "No, she only had one set of wings. Someone of her caliber wouldn't just have one set."

Mittelt scowled. "Well it doesn't matter now. She got away with our plans and now she might go somewhere to leak it out. We didn't even get her name! What are we going to tell Raynare?"

Dohnaseek lowered his fedora grimly. "We'll tell her that there's someone else in the town and what we know."

"Well she said she was a reporter right?" Mittelt asked. "Could she work for a newspaper or something?"

Dohnaseek shrugged. "Who knows. And what newspaper would recruit someone like her that you know of?"

It was a question that remained unanswered and they began flying back to the church.

The two of them never noticed the bat familiar that was watching them and it flew away in the direction of Kuoh Academy.

* * *

 **A/N: Now this chapter in particular, I enjoyed writing a lot more and I hope it shows. What I tried to show here sort of is the effects of the Lunarian War, particularly to Marisa who has lost Reimu, her best friend. While not to the same extent, I can relate in which I've lost friends (Not to death mind you) and only guilt was left for me and wondering whether I could have done something different. This isn't young Marisa anymore. While she still retains that cheerful personality, it's hard to stay the same after coming out of a difficult conflict as well as losing your best friend. I hope that I managed to at least show that. The same goes for the power comparison between Aya and the fallen angel which is completely unfair. I hope that this chapter did not disappoint and that you enjoyed it!**

 **Once again, thanks to beta Xavic for helping me out with this chapter! Thanks for everything!**


	4. Chapter 4 (Unbeta'ed)

Chapter 4: Aya

"How didja get caught!?" Marisa gave an outburst as she heard Aya relay the bad news to the team back at the clinic.

Suika crossed her arms together in a neutral stance while Reisen frowned, cupping her chin and beginning to think of all the possible repercussions.

"Ahaha… Well, I stayed a bit longer than I should've and one thing came after another and before I knew it, I was attacked and exposed." Aya scratched her head sheepishly while chuckling nervously at the same time. "But there was a new group I saw and I got a lot of good information!"

She raised her camera and notebook and shook it in an attempt to divert some of Marisa's anger off of her.

"Yeah? Lemme see!"

Marisa yanked the camera out of Aya's hands, almost dropping the electronic.

"H-hey! Be careful! That's my only one you know!"

Marisa ignored her as she began looking through the pictures. Suika and Reisen crowded next to her in order to have their own view as well.

"Guess you weren't lyin'." Marisa commented to which Aya placed her hands on her hips, giving her an indignant look.

"I told you plenty of times already! I'm an honest reporter! I never lie!"

The witch simply ignored her.

"So, who're these guys? Do ya' know?" Suika asked curiously while watching Marisa rapidly switch through the various pictures of the exorcists and fallen angels. "I don't remember ever seein' them around town before."

Aya's expression shifted into a serious one. "From what I know, it's a combination of exorcists following a group of fallen angels willingly. I've got all the names that seemed important so far in my notebook, and the leader is the woman with the long black hair. It's either Kalawarner or Raynare, but I'm not too sure."

"Did you manage to get what they were here for?" Reisen further questioned the crow tengu as well. "They can't have come for no reason after all."

"I think so," Aya answered earnestly. "They said something about bringing Sacred Gears to someone named Azazel. He sounds like someone really important because they called him the Governor General of the Grigori. With a title like that, it has to be something big."

"A Sacred Gear?" Reisen repeated the new term. "What could that be? And who could this Azazel be?"

Aya shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't get much more than that. I think they're after somebody here in town, but it doesn't really involve us."

Suika 'hmm'ed' to herself inquisitively although nobody heard it.

"Wow. Ya' took pictures while they were attackin' you?" Marisa queried as the entire group excluding Aya observed a photo of Dohnaseek throwing his blue light spear towards the camera. "Personally, I woulda' just Master Sparked him. Ya' got a lotta guts. Then again, I think ya' did the same thing a long time ago. Everybody was pretty ticked at ya' for doin' that. Not surprised this guy is too."

"They weren't very strong in the first place. Even some of the weak youkai could dodge their spears easily." Aya replied, smiling as she recalled some of the past. "I remember that too. It was pretty tough, not being able to shoot because I didn't want any of my danmaku to get in the way of my photos. You're all strong, unlike these fallen angel."

"You tengu. Acting humble to anyone stronger than you, but tough on anybody weaker than you." Suika criticized jokingly. "No middle ground for you guys?"

Aya wryly smiled at the oni. "We've been like that for years. You of all people know that already."

Suika laughed boisterously. "Oh yeah! Guess I do! I just forgot since it's been so long since us oni ruled over you guys!"

Aya remained silent after that, waiting for Marisa to finish viewing the numerous shots that she had taken. Eventually, Marisa handed the camera back to her, much to Aya's satisfaction.

"So whadda we do now?" Marisa asked, as the most of the team, including herself looked completely unsure how to answer the question. "Bird brain's caught and I don't have to be the smartest person ta' know that they'll probably start searchin' around for her. Doesn't take a genius either to know that they might connect her ta' the youkai faction or find us through her. If somethin' like that happens, then everything we worked for will just go to waste and our cover will be blown."

The lobby became dead silent as nobody quite knew what to say or do. How would they react to this situation? The tense atmosphere was almost unnatural in nature given the rowdy nature of some occupants of the room.

Finally, Reisen decided to break it, able to think of a solution.

"I think…" Reisen spoke up, "that we should have Aya-san fly back to Kyoto and ask for advice from Alice-san or Patchouli-san. She _is_ the fastest out of all of us after all and they might be able to think of an answer for our problems."

Suika nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that doesn't sound too half-bad. Now that I know those fallen angel are here, I can just spread my mist around the entire town anyway so we won't need a second person. It wouldn't be that hard, since I did it around the entire Gensokyo once. Don't think those fallen angel can do all that much with Aya if she isn't even here. Plus, it'd let Alice and Patchouli know what's been goin' on here recently too. Gotta keep 'em in the loop, even if they're just staying back in Kyoto to help Yasaka. "

Aya frowned and shook her head in disagreement. "Wait. But I want to stay here. I need to be here to that I can record everything that's going on in my notebook. If I miss anything important, then I won't be able to get everything down."

Suika waved it off dismissively and fixated her with an unusually stern look. "I'll just tell ya' everything that happens here, alright? So you should get going."

Marisa and Reisen both looked at the two strangely as Aya returned Suika's firm look with one of her own.

What was going on between the two of them?

Eventually, the tengu acquiesced to the oni and was unable to hold the stare any longer. She walked towards the door and placed her hand on the doorknob, stopping just before twisting it.

"Fine. You have to tell me everything, OK?" Aya asked seriously. "I don't want to miss a single thing that happens here."

"Yeah, yeah. I promise. Now get goin'." Suika responded and Aya exited the clinic slowly and shut the door quietly.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of a large gust of wind banged against the door and caused it to rattle noisily before eventually halting. Suika grinned to herself, knowing that Aya had just taken off at top speed.

"So what was that all about?" Marisa asked, looking at Suika suspiciously. "There something yer not tellin' us Suika?"

Suika remained silent for a while, debating mentally whether or not she would answer the question before shrugging and turning to the other two.

"That's between me and Aya. I don't wanna say anything since she doesn't know that I know."

Marisa looked absolutely perplexed. "Know what?"

Suika planted herself in one of the lobby seats and looked up at her two younger companions.

"Why Aya's here in the Outside World in the first place. It's not just for her newspaper you know."

Looks of shock were clearly defined on both of their faces.

"W-what? You do? Y-You know why she's here?" Reisen stammered just a bit. "Could you give us any hints, maybe?"

Suika hmm'ed to herself for a moment before shrugging again and deciding on her answer. "Eh. Why not? I'll give you one or two hints."

"Ahh. Thank you," Reisen thanked while bowing politely.

"She's not just here for biggest scoop is she?" The blonde witch asked the horned girl to which the latter shook her head. "Guess that was too simple."

"Well, you're not wrong. But you're not right either."

"Huh? What do ya' mean?" Marisa questioned again.

"Here's your first clue. I dunno if ya' noticed, but Aya hasn't actually published her newspaper even after the war finished. It's been months and I haven't seen a single newspaper around Gensokyo." Suika answered as she began to uncork her purple sake gourd.

"Really? I never noticed…" Reisen spoke to herself.

"Me neither. No wonder I haven't seen any issues lately." Marisa stated as well.

Suika took a sip out of her sake gourd, burping before continuing. "That leads me to my second clue! Everybody from Gensokyo, and me too, are all ultimately here because of two people. Yukari, or Reimu."

"Wait so…" Marisa started, "Aya and Patchouli are both here before of those two?"

"I don't believe I've ever seen Patchouli-san talk with Reimu-san enough to know her though. Yukari-san seems more likely." The violet haired girl speculated. "But Aya-san is here because of Reimu-san or Yukari-san?"

Marisa waved her hand flippantly. "No way. I haven't seen Aya do anything for anyone except fer herself."

"Well, there's always the exception," The horned girl responded which only served to befuddle her other two companions even further. "It is for her newspaper, I'll tell ya' that. But."

An eyebrow was raised from the moon rabbit. "But?"

"It's not just for herself this time." Suika answered solemnly. "It's for Reimu."

Silence once again, reigned dominant in the room as the information sunk into their minds and their eyes widened near the size of dinner plates.

"W-wha…?" Marisa muttered to herself although the other two occupants heard it regardless due to the quietness. "Fer… Reimu?"

"Why?" Reisen asked softly. "What does Reimu-san have to do with Aya-san?"

"Well anyway, an oni always live by their promises so I can't say anything more. That's all ya' get." Suika concluded. "I'm gonna take a nap. See ya'."

The pair watched Suika walk up the stairs in a somewhat steady manner until she was out of sight.

"I suppose now we have another person who likely has the dark sappy story you were looking for, Marisa-san." Reisen commented somewhat sarcastically as Marisa tilted her witch hat downwards, covering her eyes as she looked downwards in slight shame.

"Just never expected it ta' be Aya of all people. Maybe I should apologize ta' her later. I was a bit harsh." Marisa wryly responded before turning towards the exit of the clinic. "I'm gonna head out for a bit. I'll be back later."

"Ahh," Reisen acknowledged. "Be careful out there then, Marisa-san."

She waved her hand to show that she heard and exited the clinic, closing the door loudly.

Reisen sighed in exhaustion.

"Just knowing that Aya-san has her reason for being here, makes me wonder why Suika-san is here as well."

xXx

Rias didn't quite know what to make of what her familiar had told her. At first, she was suspicious upon hearing about how the fallen angels had managed to slip into her and Sona's territory of Kuoh. Her familiar had spotted them while in the middle of handing out fliers, along with a large contingent of rogue exorcists. That had eventually progressed to finding their base at the abandoned church. However, she couldn't do anything about the fallen angels until they either made the first move or they overstayed their welcome so the familiar had been ordered to keep an eye on them. The most interesting find was the teenager that also appeared to be spying on the fallen angels. From what her familiar had described, they had black wings that didn't look all that different from a fallen angel's own set. Rias had even believed that it was another fallen angel that was spying on the group for whatever reason.

Then came the 'fight' if it could even be called that. Whoever this person was, they were a threat. The two fallen angels with the light spears had spent the entire battle failing to hit their target properly. All the while she took pictures and wrote into her notebook, exerting the bare minimum amount of effort to dodge their attacks. It simply ended in a runaway for the pacifist reporter who flew away and completely leaving the fallen angels pursuing her behind. Thus, she had called her friend and rival Sona to the Old School Building, the Occult Research Club's headquarters, to help evaluate these new circumstances.

Each of their respective peerages were all busy with something. For Rias', they were all currently on their contracts while Sona's was hard at work with matters involving the Student Council.

Sona had listened to her patiently, not making a single comment until she finally finished.

"I believe that whoever your familiar saw was not a fallen angel." Sona finally gave her thoughts on the supposed mysterious person. "Someone with only one set of wings could not have the skill to so easily dominate the fallen angels. This leaves only one other race that I know of that would have black wings similar to those of the Grigori."

Rias' eyes raised in interest. "And what would that be?"

Sona's glasses flashed as she pushed them up. "A youkai. A Crow Tengu."

"From the youkai faction?" Rias questioned to no one in particular. "But they've almost never been out of Kyoto."

"Almost, Rias. That doesn't mean never." Sona crossed her arms, rebutting Rias' statement. "It would make sense that this crow tengu would be fast enough to evade all their attacks without trying. Crow Tengu, to my knowledge, have always been known to be some of the fastest youkai."

"But to be fast enough to not even completely focus on them. She must be the about the level of a mid or even a high level devil." Rias tried to estimate the strength of the newcomer, based on what her familiar had seen. "What would someone like that be doing in Kuoh though?"

"You said that she had a camera and a notebook with a pencil. Could she have been scouting?" Sona asked, raising a finger to her chin as she put her mind into use.

"Why? And for what though?" Rias questioned. "If she was caught like that, she probably could have easily killed them so she could get rid of any witnesses."

"It's too difficult to tell at this point. Unfortunately, one observation of her from your familiar isn't enough to clarify everything about this person. She is on our territory, but has done nothing besides watching thus far. She hasn't even fought back and because of the ceasefire between the three factions, we aren't allowed to take any action until she has either done something to us or has overstayed in Kuoh. We have no knowledge of if she lives here either, so it would be too difficult to judge whether or not she has treaded on our territory intentionally or not."

"So all we can do is guess." Rias muttered. "We should have our peerage take up the search for her. Who knows what she's doing here in the first place."

"We also need to worry about the fallen angels as well. I'm sure they have their own agenda and we should delegate someone to keep an eye on them." Sona reminded the crimson haired teenager.

"I agree. We need to be careful on how we'll get through this. This could be the spark for another Great War and the youkai faction could be involved somehow if the crow tengu is any indication." Rias nodded.

"We'll just have to observe how this progresses and take the necessary precaution. Is that everything Rias? I'll have to let my peerage know right away."

Rias nodded to her friend seriously, signaling an end to the meeting. Sona bowed respectfully and left the clubhouse, leaving Rias alone in the room who sighed in minor annoyance. Already, this was beginning to become a complicated situation with politics forcing them to take caution on their actions instead of acting the way she wanted. Sona was so much more skilled at matters like these. She sincerely hoped that the worst repercussions possible wouldn't come to be because of these new appearances.

xXx

Kyoto was a very big city, Aya noted. The sight from the shrine overlooking the city featured a great view. She'd been here multiple times now, having to relay information between the Reconnaissance Team in Kuoh to the youkai faction and Alice. Patchouli had completely dedicated herself to researching on how to remove Yasaka's magical leylines. Just like back in her library, she was a shut-in who worked for hours on end. Alice sometimes visited them in the clinic when she had time off from working with Patchouli and Yasaka, but that was rare. More often than not, Aya made the flight instead.

When she arrived this time however, a kitsune youkai had informed her that their illustrious leader along with the two magicians were still busy in the dubbed "Research Room," and wouldn't be out for some time. When Aya asked how much longer it would take, all she got was a vague "I am uncertain." Thus, she was stuck waiting for the meantime until there was a break or they were finished for the day. Seeing nothing better to do, she decided to sit herself on top of the roof of the shrine where she could see everything and the wind felt best. Her concealed wings thrummed against her back, almost pleading to be let out to feel the gentle breeze against its feathers and after a while, she decided to release them. It wasn't very often she got to and hiding them was uncomfortable anyway.

A swish of air was sent as her crow wings exposed themselves from their prison and they instinctively flapped to loosen some of its muscles. Black feathers fluttered to the ground

"Wow…" Aya heard a young voice from below. She turned downwards to the stone ground where she heard the sound of the childish voice.

To her surprise, it seemed to have come from a very young girl who'd be no taller some of the human children of Gensokyo. Her long, golden blonde hair was tied into a ponytail and her golden fox ears sprouting from her head exposed her as a kitsune. Her outfit was the traditional shrine maiden garb with tall geta that seemed clumsy to walk in. Her sleeves featured a giant red star-shaped pentagram along with five smaller ones surrounding it. Safe to say, it was much different than what Aya saw frequently from Reimi or Sanae.

"Oh…" The tiny kitsune girl said softly as she hid behind the wooden pillar to conceal herself.

"Hey… don't be like that." Aya grinned at her, trying not to scare her off. "You liked my wings?"

The child peeked out from the pillar slowly and nodded her head to show her answer.

"Well then…" Aya trailed off as she jumped off the roof and landed onto the spotless stone road with a thud.

The young kitsune flinched ever so slightly and hid behind the wooden pillar again as Aya landed and slowly walked towards the hiding spot.

"What's your name kid?" The crow tengu asked as she reached it, kneeling down to a lower level to show that she meant no harm.

The girl slowly peeked out from behind the wooden cover again.

"K-Kunou…" She answered quietly as Aya grinned and brought out her notebook and pencil to write it down.

As she finished, she exchanged her items for the camera she kept on her most of the time.

"Ok Kunou-chan. May I please have your picture?" Aya enquired politely as she raise her camera.

Kunou looked hesitant initially before deciding to nod her head. "O-Ok."

"Great!"

With Kunou's agreement, Aya's set herself into position. Her camera flashed once before moving to another angle and snapping two more shots of her. One more shot from Kunou's level and Aya decided that that was enough as she didn't want to scare her away.

"So… who are you?" Kunou questioned cautiously.

The raven haired tengu grinned at her kindly. "Me? I'm Aya Shameimaru!"

"Aya-san. Pleased to meet you." Kunou bowed respectfully. "I've never seen a crow tengu from Gensokyo before. Your wings look so fun to touch."

"Really?" Aya scratched her sheepishly. "That's the first time anybody's ever told me that."

"I never see crow tengu in Kyoto. When they come, they always hide their wings." Kunou informed her as she began poking at Aya's wing.

"So this is your first time seeing a Crow Tengu's wings?" Aya asked curiously, ignoring the slightly ticklish feeling of Kunou's fingers touching her wing.

Kunou nodded a bit shyly as she began to back off, her interest satiated for the meantime.

"Since you got to take a look at them, how about I ask you a question now?" Aya requested as Kunou nodded, giving her consent. "You've seen Alice and Patchouli around right? What are they like to you?"

"Alice-san and Patchouli-san? Umm…" Kunou put a finger to her chin as she tried to remember who they were before recognition dawned upon her.

"Oh! I remember! They're the two people that are always working with Mother!"

"Mother…?" Aya muttered to herself before the answer made her realize something as well.

"Wait wait wait! Kunou-chan is Yasaka's daughter!?" Aya questioned loudly as Kunou backed away slightly from the sudden increase in tone, but gave another nod to answer."

"U-Uh-huh."

"Oh… Hehehe…" Aya chuckled nervously. "Glad I didn't do anything too stupid."

She clapped her hands once and decided to veer the topic back on course.

"So! What are those two like Kunou-chan?" Aya asked again, smiling at the girl as she took out her notebook and pencil again and began writing quickly on what she learned.

"Well…" Kunou began nervously. "Patchouli-san is very polite, but she's cold. I never see her smile or talk very much."

"Uh-huh…" Aya said as she started jotting down Kunou's words.

"Oh! But Alice-san is really kind! She showed me a puppet performance with her dolls one day after Patchouli-san and Alice-san were done with Mother! All by herself!" The young kitsune began getting excited as she recalled the event, her face brightening up as she did so. "I didn't know you could control so many dolls like that! It was amazing!"

"Hahaha," Aya giggled in a light manner. "There's plenty of amazing people like that in Gensokyo, you know."

"Really? Is Gensokyo that much fun?" Kunou asked curiously, her eyes shining with naiveté. "What is it like?"

"It's a lot of fun and we solve things by fighting each other," Aya began answering in an almost nostalgic manner. "Everyone can fly and we always have parties to celebrate certain events. In fact, I know someone who looks your age, Kunou-chan. Everybody celebrated her birthday a couple of years ago and I'm sure she'd like you a lot."

"Will I ever meet her if we move to Gensokyo? What's she and everybody else like?"

"Well…."Aya began, unsure of whether to begin. "Let's sit down first. I'll just tell you how the party went then since everyone goes there. So let's see…"

" _Hey Hey Reimi! Here! Try a sip!"_

 _A sake dish was practically forced on the table in front of the young girl by Suika as the young shrine maiden looked at the beverage curiously._

" _What's that? Water?"_

 _She picked up the dish while looking at the clear liquid, trying to observe it for any clear differences to what she was more used to._

" _Not really! Don't worry so much about it! You'll like it, I promise!" Marisa interjected energetically, peer pressuring the child into joining their shenanigans._

 _Reimi still looked unsure, her eyes drifting from Marisa, Suika, and the sake dish in front of her, liquid bouncing back and forth in an almost hypnotic pendulum._

" _Umm… Ok I guess…"_

 _She raised the dish off the table and to her lips while Suika and Marisa grinned innocently._

" _Hey! What do you think you two are doing!? Reimu shouted from behind, snatching the sake dish right out of her daughter's hands before it could enter her mouth._

" _Wha-? Mommy?" Reimi exclaimed as her irate mother fumed from behind, glaring at the human witch and oni who were smiling sheepishly at her._

" _Reimu! Don't be such a stiff! Let Reimi have a sip! It won't hurt her!" Marisa tried to persuade which only served her to anger her further._

" _She's five!"_

" _Oh? Is there a problem here?" Yukari asked as she walked in on the beginnings of the argument, a kind smile on her face as she looked on at the commotion._

" _Yukari! Great! Help me persuade these drunks not to give Reimi alcohol!" Reimu turned to her long-time companion and mentor, only to realize that asking her personally for help wasn't the best idea._

" _But I could simply remove the boundaries and remove the sake from her body. It wouldn't be an issue." Yukari responded, even having the gall to giggle._

" _Ahahahaha!" Suika laughed boisterously. "Don't worry about your Mom one bit Reimi. Just down it all in one go! Even Auntie Yukari gave her approval!"_

" _Agggggh!" Reimu shouted in frustration. "You!"_

 _She pointed at her husband forcefully who looked back at her in shock._

" _Help me instead! This is our daughter!" Reimu yelled as she turned back to Marisa who was not tilting the cup up to Reimi's lips as the latter looked unsure on the final decision._

" _R-right. Hold on a sec Reimu!"_

" _Honestly, I truly wonder who is the one in charge of the marriage." Ran stated off-handedly while Aya snapped photos of the verbal struggle._

 _The other guests, uninvited or otherwise, looked on with mostly amusement at the party antics of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden and her husband trying to stop the others from pushing Reimi into drinking. To their further dismay, others joined Marisa and Suika to have Reimi drink. Eventually though, Reimu succeeded in her task and put Reimi to bed while the party continued and she began drinking herself into a stupor in order to ease her stress while her husband remained sober to keep an eye on her._

 _He somewhat regretted his decision to not join her as in the middle of a discussion, Reimu suddenly rose from her seat and marched over to her husband._

" _Hey! You!" She spoke up loudly, gaining everyone's attention momentarily._

 _He began to sweat nervously, slightly unsure as to what she would do in her drunken state as he looked at her flushed face._

" _Reimu? What's the matter?" He asked, hoping with every fiber of his being that she wouldn't say something she would regret._

" _We're gonna make Reimi a sister! I want to do it tonight!" She declared proudly and had he had anything in his mouth, he would have spat it out._

" _W-What!? What are you talking about!?"_

" _You and I haven't done it recently! So after everyone is asleep, we're gonna do it!" She reiterated as her husband's mouth began sputtering in response while his face turned beet red with utter embarrassment._

" _Uhh… w-what… t-that is… umm…"_

" _Just say yes dammit you!"_

" _U-umm… y-yes?" He barely managed to squeak before he shook his head fiercely in refusal. "Wait, what am I even thinking!? No no no no no! This is all wrong! I know that you haven't drank enough to get like this and I even made sure of it! So why are you acting like this!?"_

" _I-It's just…Y-You've been ignoring me at night recently…" Reimu slowly said, her true feelings brought to the surface, her inhibitions removed from her inebriation. "I keep hinting, but you're so dense! So the only way I'll get you to do it is if I say it out loud!"_

" _O-oh…" The sole man of the party turned away in shame. "B-but then did you have to say this in front of everyone? This is just so embarrassing... Damn it. If I knew you were going to do this, I would have just gotten drunk along with you."_

 _To his very minor comfort at the least, most of the laughter he expected were simply smiles or stifled snickers from the numerous guests who had watched the entire scene._

" _Come on… Reimu. Let's just get you to bed." He got up and began urging her towards their bedroom. "You'll feel terrible in the morning and I'll brew some tea for you OK? Then MAYBE we could do it."_

" _Mmm." She acknowledged quietly as he led her through the slide door, both disappearing behind it._

" _Fufufu." Yukari chuckled as she flapped open her fan, her smile hidden behind it. "I don't think he noticed me spiking her drink to make it exponentially stronger. What a shame."_

" _Reimu is always so entertaining whenever she's drunk. Her husband even more so, though it's a shame we didn't get to see that." Remilia commented, grinning at events nonetheless._

" _No worries! If Reimu is any indication, I'm sure Reimi would make an even funnier drunk! I'll get her in a few more years so!" Suika boisterously added, laughing all the while as she poured another cup of sake to Yukari._

" _Oh? That's actually not a bad idea, coming from you." The Scarlet Devil complimented before turning to her maid. "Sakuya! Remind me later to twist Reimi's fate to become drunk at a future party!"_

 _The Perfect and Elegant Maid bowed respectfully to her master._

" _Yes, Ojou-sama."_

"W-What!? You guys have v-vampires? Ghosts? Goddesses? What exactly kind of place _is_ Gensokyo?" Kunou asked as she really wondered what kind of insanity dwelled in a world like that.

Aya chuckled at her question and pat the young kitsune on the head.

"I told you. A lot of people amazing people are in Gensokyo. We all do different things too and everyone is unique no matter who they are or where they're from. Besides, you have all kinds of youkai here too."

Kunou looked up to the crow tengu with curious eyes. "But I see them all the time. What about you? What do you do, Aya-san?"

"Me? Well..." Aya hesitated for a moment before smiling at her. "I'm an honest reporter of the Bunbunmaru Newspaper. I write stories of what happens around in Gensokyo and hand out newspaper to everyone!"

Despite the energetic words given, Kunou frowned at the smile.

"Aya-san…? Is something wrong?" She questioned. "You looked so sad when you said all that…"

The reporter's eyes widened momentarily at her sad smile being caught despite trying to hide it.

"Well…" She paused momentarily. "I haven't… I mean, it's a complicated thing, Kunou-chan. That's not for kids to talk about."

"Oh…" Kunou turned away sadly. "Okay then…"

Aya's expression turned into guilt however at Kunou's sudden mood change.

"Ahh, hey… Sorry. I just don't think it's something you want to hear about. It's a lon-."

Before she could further speak though, the sound of a door sliding open came from behind and both of their attention turned to the new person.

"Aya? I heard from one of the kitsune guards that you were looking for me." Alice said as she looked at the sight of Yasaka's daughter and Gensokyo's Crow Tengu sitting together on the steps.

"Ahh. That's right! Just in time Alice!" Aya jovially replied as she shot up from her seat. "Yeah. We got a smallllll situation back in Kuoh that needs to be handled."

She gestured with her hand, thumb and index finger close together on the word 'small.'

Alice's eyebrows raised in minor interest before turning to Kunou.

"Kunou-san, one of your attendees is looking for you. You need to go back inside." Alice sternly said to which the addressed person bowed politely and began to head inside.

"Good-bye Aya-san. Let's talk again!"

She turned back towards Aya and waved before entering and Alice slid the door shut before looking at Aya.

"So, what's the situation like that's required you come back four days earlier than I expected? I doubt it's such a 'small' situation if that's the case."

Aya scratched her head sheepishly, not in the least bit helping the situation as Alice began to start narrowing her eyes at her in seriousness.

"Eh…. H-Hear me out first okay? It wasn't on purpose, I promise!"

Alice held onto her glare for a moment before releasing a tired sigh at what she predicted was going to be Aya's failure.

"Fine. Let's go inside and have a seat first and we'll hear what you have to say. I can already tell that what you have to say will only bring further grief. I'm already tired from today and while it's nice to work with Patchouli, her stamina is disturbingly good when it comes to anything regarding research. Not something you'd think with her health problems." Alice spoke as she entered the shrine with Aya following her inside.

xXx

"I see. I suppose it was inevitable that you were discovered sooner or later given your's and Marisa's nature." Alice sighed in disbelief at Aya's story before taking a sip of the tea to help her think.

The both of them were now seated in a small meeting room set aside for Team Gensokyo in the case they all assembled for whatever reason they needed. It was sparse, but nobody particularly cared as it served its purpose and it was never used in the first place as the team was always split anyway

"I guess I got a little too overconfident." Aya stuck out her tongue in a bashful manner before she realized she wanted to ask something. "Oh. Marisa asked me this a few days ago, but I think everybody wants to know how the research with Yasaka is going on removing the magical leylines from her. So how's that going?"

Alice's lips steadied themselves into a firm line. "Slow. The leylines have been within her for hundreds of gyears. At least for over a thousand now. They're much more ingrained within her than we thought and we're still trying to find a way to remove it. Even if we could, all that latent magical energy would have to go somewhere. At least Patchouli enjoys the challenge, even if she doesn't necessarily show it."

"What about the land? There's plenty of land to place the energy in." Aya suggested, but Alice promptly shook her head.

"We thought about that already and that wouldn't be for the best. Kyoto would become a land with rich magical energy which would attract all the other factions to it. Not only would we have to defend it while we siphon the leylines from Yasaka, but we'd lose our time to continue scouting out the others."

Aya shrugged. "Well, it was worth a try."

The Magician turned to the crow tengu with a more somber face. "Speaking of Marisa, I haven't been able to check on her but… How is she? Is she alright?"

The winged girl looked slightly baffled for a moment at the rather sudden topic change but answered anyway.

"She's fine. Nothing I didn't notice anyway. If anything, she looks a bit more determined than when we first came."

Alice smiled, her lips turning upwards as her face practically brightened at her words. "That's… very good to hear. I was scared for her state when we first entered the Outside World, but if she has improved emotionally, then I'm happy for her."

Aya chuckled before deciding to shift the conversation again. "But, more importantly, what are we gonna do now that I've been caught?"

That was now the new question of the day for Alice, barring the one on how to remove the leylines.

Alice placed a hand under her chin, her thumb and index finger cupping as she began to think hard over what she had heard from Aya and how to solve the dilemma. Aya was seen and the fight could have attracted attention. Not combatants directly, but most likely observers to see what was going on. It was good that Aya didn't reveal much of her attacks and the only thing that was seen about her was her speed and her ability to fly. The latter was a common aspect of the factions anyway and the youkai weren't an exception anyway. The biggest problem was that Aya was a clear youkai. A youkai seen outside of Kyoto would most likely be associated as a move from the Youkai Faction of Kyoto and that would definitely bring eyes upon them.

If it was only a one-time occurrence however, then the factions would most likely ignore it. In that case, Aya wouldn't be able to be seen again or a connection would be made.

A solution dawned upon Alice and the circumstances in which the problem could be mended became clear to her.

"Aya. You'll have to stay here in Kyoto for the duration of our time in the Outside World unless an emergency occurs." Alice answered and the addressed tengu spoke up in shock.

"What? Why?"

"It's obvious to anyone that you're a youkai, a crow tengu. The most you could get away with was being mistaken as a fallen angel with your wings, but that would be hard to believe now that you fought against a pair. If you stayed in Kuoh, the other groups will begin searching for you which will lead them back to the Youkai Faction. If that happened, our whole plan would fall apart." Alice reasoned though Aya still looked unhappy. "Also, Suika's way of spying, her mist is practically impossible to find. After all, nobody knew she was causing an incident until Yukari finally told Reimu that Suika was the instigator."

"But I…" Aya began, causing Alice to raise an eyebrow in interest for her objection. "I… want to stay close to the group if I can."

"Why?" Alice queried. "I don't understand."

"So..." Aya was unable to finish, choosing to lay her tengu notebook and pencil on the table instead.

"You don't plan on publishing a newspaper here of all places, do you?" Alice asked suspiciously, looking at the notebook with disdain. "You won't be able to in the first place."

"No…" Aya objected. "It's for when we get back to Gensokyo. It's for Reimu."

Alice was taken aback.

"For Reimu? What do you mean?"

"Marisa isn't the only one who felt guilty when Reimu fell into that coma. Everybody was affected by it in some way. I just… didn't show it as much as everyone else did." Aya started explaining, staring at the notebook solemnly as Alice looked at her in silence. "She's one of the first human friends I've ever had and I'm as old as Yukari. I still remember when she was just some random youkai who came up with the idea of Gensokyo. Nobody thought that would it work, but Yukari did and someone helped her."

Alice was tempted to answer on how her attitude and actions easily made that forgettable, but she successfully suppressed it.

"Reimu treats _everyone_ equally with a few exceptions. Even youkai like us are just naturally drawn to her. As a Hakurei Shrine Maiden, she's the absolute worst in her duties, never exterminating us and solving incidents without any permanent harm." Aya continued. "But, it's why so many of us like her and Reimi by extension. In a way, she's the best of Gensokyo, accepting everybody no matter who or what they are. And for us Tengu, we respect that. Gensokyo is our paradise and Reimu is the embodiment of the acceptance of both youkai and human."

"And how does your journalism come into play here?" Alice asked curiously.

"When we come back and Reimu wakes back up, I'm going to show Reimu everything I've written for the newest edition. It'll be everything from how much Gensokyo's residents care for her to what happened after the Invasion." Aya determinately answered, picking up her notebook off the table. "It's what she deserves to know and we youkai never really showed her our thanks for being accepting, except her own family. That's why the other Tengu asked me to come and I took Yukari's offer to join the team. I was the closest to her out of all of the other Tengu after all."

Alice remained silent for a while as the information sank in. To her, it seemed like a pretty simple reason for joining the team.

"I suppose it's only fair if I told you why I'm here as well." Alice decided to bring up her reason, temporarily shocking Aya. "You can even write this down if you like. I don't mind."

Aya smiled happily as she opened up her notebook, ready to pen down notes on why Alice Margatroid, the Puppeteer was here in the Outside World.

This was one newspaper article that she was going to force Reimu to read. One way or another.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Deal with the Devil

"I get along with Reimu frequently," Alice began. "And I admit that it is saddening that Reimu has ended up the way she is. While I knew that there would be many casualties after the Lunarian Invasion, Reimu was a casualty that I didn't see happening. After all, if she was lost, Gensokyo would be in ruin. That was what I believed."

Aya nodded, rapidly writing into her tengu notebook while listening to her fellow youkai.

"Perhaps Yukari always had a plan in mind if a Hakurei Shrine Maiden was unable to attend to their duties, but it was fortunate that she managed to hold the Great Hakurei Barrier together. It wasn't just the physical loss of her powers however, but the emotional damage that everybody received. Nobody was unscathed, either directly or indirectly, and who would be one of the most hurt other than Marisa, Reimu's longest friend other than perhaps Yukari. Or even her family."

Alice took a sip from her warm tea, pausing momentarily to allow the Crow Tengu to finish up her notes.

"When I told her that Reimu was placed in a coma, Marisa was distraught to say the least. And even that might be an understatement." Alice stated in a low tone, sinking her eyes towards the still steaming tea. "Emotion and intentions can be greatly involved with magic sometimes and Marisa's form of magic is very volatile. Between Patchouli, Marisa, and myself, Marisa's magic is the most destructive. Her Final Spark that decimated a good portion of the Forest of Magic was one of the biggest I've ever seen."

Aya nodded, stopping to write to agree. "Yeah. Everything was just incinerated and when I went to scout for us later, there were just Lunarian bodies everywhere. Not even the grass survived."

"And even some time after we won and the damaged was reversed thanks to Keine on the full moon, Marisa just holed herself up in her house for almost two weeks." Alice began speaking slower, guilt and restrained sadness becoming obvious in her voice. "Leaving Marisa alone like that would have been stupid and as one of her longest friends, I took it upon myself to care for her as she became depressed. There were even times where she would mutter to herself and laugh, believing Reimu to still be conscious. A clear sign of being delusional."

Aya looked stunned to even hear that.

"Whoa. I didn't… think it got that bad. I mean, I told you I felt guilty but I didn't think Marisa of all people would be like that with how she acts all the time. I didn't see anything like that for the few weeks I've been in Kuoh." Aya placed a hand under her chin, attempting to think of a time when she saw Marisa's usual expression crack to show even a hint of the sadness that she concealed.

Alice gave a thin line of facial expression towards the interviewer. "I haven't seen Marisa in a while. That's why I've been worried about her while I continue to work with Patchouli."

Here, the magician looked Aya right into the eye as the latter began jotting down the information again.

"I even considered asking Eirin for help as Marisa started becoming unresponsive to me. Whether she decided to out of a whim or after serious thought, she eventually began speaking to me again. She slowly opened up again, returning to her usual demeanor while occasionally slipping back to her sad state. Eventually, she gathered the courage to visit the shrine numerous times along with myself to see Reimu's condition as well as her daughter. When Yukari began forming this team and Marisa asked me to join, I did so immediately to keep a further eye on her. I refuse to leave her alone in such a trying time."

Aya began looking at Alice a tad skeptically. "Not that I'm not happy you're being so forthcoming this time, but this seems a bit personal to Marisa doesn't it? I mean, most of why you're here is just because of her. Are you sure it's fine to give all this information to me? Won't Marisa be angry at you for telling me her private reason for being here?"

Alice shook her head, returning Aya's dubious look with a wry smile. "Perhaps. Marisa is one of the main factors of why I'm here, and I know her well enough that she won't hold a grudge. I'm willing to make an exception this time and if you do publish this newspaper and force Reimu to read it, I'm sure Marisa wouldn't really mind too much."

Aya stared at her for a while before eventually shrugging. "Alright, whatever you say. I only report the truth after all. Are you here for Reimu too then?"

The puppeteer raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Isn't everyone?"

The reporter scratched her head, already having an answer in mind. "Well, I can't see Patchouli being here for Reimu and your friends with both Marisa and Reimu. They don't really know each other that well, I would think."

Alice gave a slow 'hmm,' trying to determine whether or not it was her business to state Patchouli's reason for joining the team. She knew Marisa wouldn't particularly care all that much since it really was the absolute truth this time and it wouldn't be exaggerated like almost all the other information from issues of Aya's newpaper given how serious she was this time. After all, she gave her own reason for wanting it as well as her reason for joining the Gensokyo Team. Patchouli on the other hand, was someone completely different. She had a hint of why she was here, but she didn't think it was her business to state it though and her assumptions may just be wrong anyway.

"You'll have to ask for yourself. I have a vague idea of what reason Patchouli-san has for being in the team, but I may be wrong." Alice answered as Aya frowned in response.

"But I almost never see her when I come by. Can't you ask for me?" Aya tried to persuade to which Alice promptly shut it down.

"I already told you that it would a good idea for you stay to in Kyoto now that you have been discovered. You'll have several opportunities to ask Patchouli-san." She countered to which Aya palmed her face.

"Oh yeah…" Aya replied. "Damn it! But all she does is ignore me regularly whenever I come by the Scarlet Devil Mansion though when I get past that gate guard and Sakuya. I'm sure she'll do it again!"

Alice scoffed. "With your nosiness, it's no surprise anyone would. Didn't Yukari-san at one point in time even attack you for doing so?"

"Well… yeah! But-!" Aya tried to make an excuse.

"Not a word from you. We're all justified in being reluctant to tell you anything with your tendency to twist the truth after all. You even took pictures of our attacks at one point."

Aya grimaced at the accusation. "Now I know you're just poking fun at me! And besides, you just told me why you were here, didn't ya?"

"Today is just an exception. You shouldn't be used to this when everything is resolved."

Aya grit her teeth with her hands clenched together before eventually dropping her head in defeat.

"I just told you that I only report the truth and what I write is the truth."

"That's beside the point when most of your readers hardly believe what you have to say in the first place. Is it really the truth then? Either way. I'm sure you'll find out a way to ask Patchouli-san." Alice continued bantering, smiling at her verbally defeated opponent. "However. I'm surprised that you could be so… serious for once."

Aya waved off her words dismissively. "I can be serious! I was this time, wasn't I?"

Alice nodded in agreement. "You're right for once."

The both of them smiled at each other sincerely before Aya began chuckling and Alice giggled, placing a closed fist near her lips as she did so. Eventually, they stopped and Aya looked up towards the roof, hands supporting her weight from leaning backwards.

"I missed this ya' know. Being able to talk without having to worry about the hard consequences, you know."

Alice gave a small 'hmm' in agreement.

"I'm sorry to bring up such a serious thing then, but I have a question for you."

Aya looked at Alice in slight confusion. "Hmm? What's that?"

"Do you think…" Alice bit her lip, slightly reluctant to finish before looking at Aya with determination. "…that it's better to hope that things never change to keep the peace of the past? Or to look to the future and move on from the past regrets?"

Aya pushed herself into an upright position, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. "Hey, what's up with this question all of a sudden?"

"I'm curious on your thoughts. You said you were one of the oldest youkai that even knew Yukari when she first had the idea of Gensokyo. I thought you might have an idea on what you think would be the best." Alice stated as Aya continued looking up to the ceiling, deep in thought.

"That's hard to say. I guess…" Aya stopped for a moment, trying to formulate what to say,"…that's how Gensokyo is right now."

"How so?"

"Well, uhh…" Another pause. "I'm sure a lot of youkai want it to be like back before the Lunarian Invasion. We did get hit the hardest after all and nobody was really dissatisfied with how Gensokyo was being run. But if there's one thing I know, it's that things will always change somehow. Nothing is the same forever. You can hope and wish all you want, but things just won't ever be the same as before. Whether it's technology or new ideas or whatever, things'll change eventually."

Aya looked back at Alice with a frown.

"Even if you have guilt or regret, what can you really do besides try and resolve things for yourself. Unless someone can time travel, I think that's what all the oldest youkai feel like right now. We've experienced the most and even if losses and sacrifices never get easier, we also get better at figuring out what to do afterwards. I lost some of my tengu friends from the invasion and I knew it would happen, but I got over it pretty quickly. I think it's better to overcome all the regrets we have, learn from it, and then try and do better in the future."

"I see." Alice said as she began thinking over her words.

"And honestly, I think the entire group here might just be trying to do that whether they know it or not." Aya finished as she looked at her tea with a soft smile.

xXx

Suika watched on through her mist form as the boy that had entertained her with his antics during her surveillance on Kuoh Academy was stabbed through the stomach with a light spear from the fallen angel that Aya had described to them when she had come back earlier. He had taken her to a park under the sunset alone and it was the perfect opportunity to kill him with no other obvious witnesses around. With her consciousness spread everywhere, it had taken too long to reassemble herself to try and stop the attack on him. As a result, Issei's murderer gloated over his body before flying off into the sky.

To Suika's surprise, Issei was still breathing and her separate consciousness believed that even though he was in critical condition, she could probably bring him to Reisen on time to save him. As she continued gathering the mist to assemble though, the area around his body began glowing red and she stopped.

As the crimson magical circle flashed brightly, eventually expanding outwards, Rias Gremory, the girl she had been spying for a few weeks now, appeared into existence next to him. She could see Rias frowning over Issei's downed body and Suika looked on as Rias placed on his chest what looked like a chess piece. A pawn to be exact.

The chess piece was sucked into his body though there was no change in his condition.

Was it some kind of healing technique or item? It was obvious that the piece was magically enchanted to do something, but it didn't appear to be working. Suika had no idea what Rias could possibly be doing.

She didn't give up though and began placing more of those pawn pieces onto his chest with each of them ending up the same as the first. Finally, after an eighth one, the hole in Issei's stomach began closing up and the crimson haired girl smiled. Afterwards, the ground underneath both of them began glowing red again and they both disappeared to wherever.

If Suika had a face, she would have frowned. She vaguely recalled Rias showing interest in Issei during her surveillance and this sort of behavior was unnervingly similar to Yukari. It was a good thing that Rias had no idea that she was being spied upon and that so long as she didn't reveal herself, she could continue gathering information. For now though, it would be best to head back to the clinic as there was nothing more to do for the moment. She was sure the now reduced Gensokyo scouting team would be interested in this series of events.

xXx

"So those are the fallen angels that Aya-san told us about a few days ago…" Reisen reiterated as Suika told her and Marisa what had happened. "And somehow the devils, or Rias I suppose, was able to take Issei away through magic after he was fatally wounded. I didn't know it took you so long to reform Suika."

"When I'm spread all over where every piece of me is too far, takes a while to put myself back together. Not like I wanted him to die, ya' know." Suika nonchalantly said, though Marisa could see that Suika was being serious. She didn't think she would kid around so much with a life on the line.

"Sure woulda' helped if Aya didn't screw up. We coulda keep track a' things a lot easier, but ah' well." The Oni commented. "Anyway, the devils and the fallen angels have been pretty active on trying to search for where and who Aya is after she got caught, but that's startin' to slow down a bit. They're still sendin' people all over the place to scout out Kuoh so we need ta' be a lot more careful when we go out and get stuff."

"Tomorrow then." Marisa stated. "No point in headin' out there when things are really active right now, right? What do we still need anyway?"

"Just food. We ran out faster than I expected." Reisen answered. "We'll need much more this time. I think the entire group will be coming sometime soon to discuss our progress as a whole now that it's almost been a month here in the outside world. Yukari-san may be coming in person this time as well. At least, that's what Aya-san said last time she visited."

"Yukari too eh?" Suika cocked an interested eyebrow. "In that case, might wanna add sake to what we need. It's probably going to be a party! A small one! I mean, mine is great but I don't think any of us are gonna want Oni sake. It's pretty strong after all and I want to try some new sake anyway."

Marisa shrugged her shoulders. "Alright. Whatever. Sure, I'll grab some for us. It'll be nice ta' see Alice and Patchouli again. But I didn't think a month would pass already. Makes you wonder how it's going on Yukari and Gensokyo's side. I mean, is everybody alright over there ya' think?"

"I'm sure Yukari's just fine. This is Yukari you're talkin' about here." Suika waved her slight concern dismissively. "Even if we're not around, there's a lot of others in Gensokyo that'll make sure it's safe. As long as the Lunarians don't come back right away, there's not too much ta' worry 'bout. They took a lota' losses too so I don't think they'll be back anytime soon. It'd be stupid, even for them."

Reisen nodded in agreement. "You're right. We should focus on the here and now. Speaking of which, it's starting to become late. We should head to bed soon. I'll need to open earlier than usual to make up for when I'll be closing the clinic for when everybody comes together."

The three assented their agreement and headed off to their respective room upstairs to sleep. The next day, true to Reisen's word, the disguised moon rabbit opened up her clinic earlier than usual for customers. Marisa also agreed to pick up the supplies that evening while Suika had returned to maintaining surveillance throughout the city. The supermarket, Marisa had recently learned, had much more products and items in it than she knew what to do. It was much more expansive than the stalls and shops that the Human Village back in Gensokyo had. All the items were centered into one area and that made things convenient for her, even though she had gotten lost in it the very first time and had to ask for directions.

After paying for several bags of food, she exited the supermarket through its automatic doors.

"What the…? Isn't that…?" Marisa muttered to herself as she saw a rather familiar looking face.

Issei Hyoudou. Alive.

Aya had managed to snap a picture of him after Suika had asked her to do so, seeing as he had caught the interests of both the Fallen Angel and Devils. And Suika had just stated that he was wounded heavily before being healed quickly and taken away by the devils.

What was he doing here?

He stood in an alleyway, looking as if he was having a panic attack. She couldn't quite see his face, but his brown, rather spiky hair was the same as the photo Aya had shown her. The clothing he was wearing was the same too. His hand was placed at his mouth area as if trying to stop himself from puking. He was hunched over, having one hand against the wall to try and support himself. Then, as if shaking off the attack, he began running off at a decent speed.

Marisa began following him, bags hanging while bouncing on her broom handle, sprinting in the direction that Issei was running. She didn't want to fly as that would instantly bring attention to her and due to him getting a head start, keeping him in her sights was a small challenge.

"Where the heck is he runnin'?" Marisa questioned to no one in particular.

He was driven for sure and he seemed to know where he was running. The streets and sidewalks were strangely vacant as he sprinted through the city blocks though Marisa didn't pay it too much mind. The sun was already setting and night was beginning to rise, but that didn't seem to deter or inhibit Issei as he continued running. Eventually, her tailed target stopped at a park with a fountain and he looked around as if taking in all the sights as quickly as possible. Marisa stopped and hid behind a tree a fair distance away from him as she tried to overhear what he was saying.

"This is where I was…" She barely heard as he talked somewhat quietly. He didn't finish his sentence as he seemed hesitant to.

He kneeled down at a spot, taking his hand to rub at the ground.

Maybe that was where he died?

That seemed to be the only reason why he would do that unless he was now insane.

"Oh? What's this? A devil without a master?" A deep and gruff voice rang out through the air.

Both Issei and Marisa turned in the direction of the voice, coming from another set of trees and an extremely tall man, wearing a gray trench coat along with a black fedora emerged from the darkness. He didn't appear to be any older than his thirties or forties, but like most of Gensokyo's residents, Marisa had the hinting suspicion that this man was probably older than he appeared.

"W-Who are you!?" Issei trembled in fear, stuttering at the sight of the man.

Then, as if cementing that fear, a familiar set of wings emerged from the man's back which Issei quickly recognized.

"Y-you… have the same wings…" Issei stuttered, tripping backwards and edging back from the intimidating figure.

"So, you were alive after all. It was strange how your body disappeared when we checked back later to see if you were actually dead." The giant stopped, glaring at the boy who had an utter look of panicked fear on his face.

"S-So I really did die." He muttered to himself. "Who are you!? What do you want with me!?"

"I suppose that you'll be dead again anyway, so I may as well give you my name. I am Dohnaseek, and as you may already know, I am a Fallen Angel."

Marisa glowered at the now named person and gently placed her bags of food onto the ground off of her broom handle. It definitely looked like he was going to try and kill this kid. This honestly didn't feel any different from the youkai extermination jobs she stole from Reimu. In this case, Issei was the human or devil as Dohnaseek called him, and the latter was a youkai attempting to kill or eat Issei.

"Dohnaseek, what's the holdup? Why are you taking so long?" Another voice said, coming from the sky as a woman with long blue hair landed next to him. She also had the same wings as the man she was addressing. "Don't tell me you've gotten soft. You better not fail or Raynare's going to be angry after you let the intruder get away last time."

"Hmph. Not a chance Kalawarner. And that little spy was much better than we thought. We haven't seen her around since. You wouldn't have done any better." Dohnaseek retorted. "Either way, killing this boy won't be any issue."

Finally, a blue light spear formed in his hand and Issei looked at the weapon as if it was an executioner's axe waiting to behead him.

"Nothing against you personally, boy. Fate just has it out against you." Dohnaseek gravely said as he twirled his light spear and threw it at the frightful teenager.

"Ahhhhhh!" Issei shouted, falling to the ground behind him while instinctively covering his eye, unable to watch his approaching doom.

That was enough for Marisa.

She instinctually pulled out her mini-Hakkero and quickly fired a small laser which intercepted the projectile and incinerated it out of existence.

Dohnaseek's eyes widened as his weapon was destroyed and a blond spellcaster jumped out of the trees in front of his target in a blocking gesure.

"H-huh?" Issei slowly opened his eye, looking at his body as if it was a dream. "I-I'm alive?"

"Can't let 'cha do that. Yer not gonna kill him this time." Marisa declared, grinning as if her goal to protect him was already secured.

The long, blue haired woman with clothing that barely covered her assets stepped up, forming a purple light spear in her hands. "And who are you?"

"Just an ordinary witch! That's all ya' need ta' know!" Marisa answered confidently, mini-hakkero secured in one hand with her trusty broom in the other.

"Y-You saved me! T-Thanks for saving me miss…" Issei's voice from behind took some of her attention. "But, who are you? How did you stop his spear like that?"

"Nothing to it kid! I might answer that later. Step back and lemme handle this." The somewhat aged witch enthusiastically replied as she maintained her combat stance against the two fallen angels.

"If you're going to be in our way, then you'll just have to die too." Dohnaseek coldly said. "You're simply a human and humans have no chance against us."

"Well, we'll just hafta see about that!" Marisa rose her mini-Hakkero up to her shoulder and blasted Dohnaseek with a small laser, hitting him square in the shoulder and knocking him back towards the tree.

"Nrrgh!" He grunted as his coat was burned right off and his skin was charred and exposed.

"Stand back Dohnaseek. I'll take care of this." The male's partner shouted. "All we need to do is kill the boy and we'll be done."

To accentuate that statement, she began lobbing spears at a rapid pace towards the two humans.

Issei shrieked, but his protector remained calm. She swung her broom horizontally to launch several giant colored stars bullets towards the opposing barrage. It clashed, canceling each other out. However, Marisa's side easily gained the upper hand as her onslaught of stars continued. Whereas Kalawarner would have to throw her spears one by one, Marisa's broom spewed out numerous more bullets from her swings, covering the entire front with a mass of giant stars. As a result, the woman was completely unable to even penetrate its field as where one star was destroyed, five more would come to take its place. As if to make things worse, the stars that were originally meant to defend now started to launch itself towards her direction and she was forced to take to the air using her feathered wings.

Marisa restrained herself from taking to the air as well. She needed to stay near Issei in order to protect him. Dohnaseek was now nowhere to be seen and while she could fight back against Kalawarner's ranged attacks, she now had the air advantage. It'd be easier for her opponent to hit her than the other way around. She needed to do something to even the odds a bit more.

An idea suddenly struck her in the head and she smirked cockily.

"Ya' know, your magic is pretty sad. This is boring! I thought you'd be more of a challenge, but I guess not! All I'm doin' is swinging my broom while you gotta keep throwin' those spears at me. Ya' can't even get past my basic bullets! In battles like this, it's all about firepower!" Marisa taunted as her opponent remained in the air.

"What!? You insolent human! How dare you talk to me like that!" She angrily shouted back. "If you want firepower, then face this!"

She rose her hand into the air to focus her power and a light spear quickly formed in her hand. However, this one began growing in size in comparison to the other ones.

"Even your laser can't pierce this! With this, I'll make sure the both of you are dead!"

"Geez, what a hothead. And that's what she thinks." Marisa casually commented. "My first fight and this is so boring. Ah well! It worked and that's all that matters!"

The witch raised her arm holding the mini-Hakkero at her opponent. She gathered her magic into her weapon, quickly heating up in her hand and she shouted at her opponent.

"Narrow Spark!" She shouted and a decently sized laser launched itself towards her opponent.

Her eyes widened as it sped towards her. Unfortunately, she was unable to move as she was gathering power for her projectile. As a result, the laser struck her in the shoulder, hitting exposed skin and piercing the area, leaving the area around it completely black and a clear sign of being heavily burnt.

Sensing magical energy rising, Marisa quickly turned her aim towards the trees.

"Don't think I forgot about you." She warned, her arm raised against the man who was slowly climbing back up onto his feet, light spear slowly forming in his hand.

"Tch."

Dohnaseek's ally barely landed next to him, wings flapping to slow her descent as blood flowed out of the open wound.

"W-We're retreating! We can't even win against her!? She's obviously a pitiful human magician!" She shouted as Dohnaseek silently nodded and helped her up onto his shoulder for support. From there, he carried her bridal style and began ascending into the air.

"This isn't over boy! Witch! You will die! Sooner or later, you will!" The lady gave her last words as they disappeared into the distance

Marisa sighed in relief and dispelled the stars in front of her and put away her mini-Hakkero. Protection duty was definitely not her forte. She was more of an attacker that took advantage of her raw magical power. Patchouli and Alice were so much more suited for this kind of thing.

"Thanks for saving me miss. I-I thought I was going to die!" Issei thanked her graciously as he sighed in relief at his survival. "But who are you? And how can you do all that magic?"

"Calm down kid. Yer hyperventilating. Deep breaths." Marisa kneeled down next to him, instructing him on what to do. "In and out. Slowly."

He barely nodded and he began to do as he was told.

Marisa took the time to look at the boy she had rescued and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

His skin was very pale, most likely from the panic attack he had earlier along with the stress of the attempt on his life. The cold sweat on his head only confirmed his panic and anxiety at the situation. He was slowly regaining color to his face as he breathed in and out at a slow pace. He wiped the sweat off of his temple with his sleeve and his breathing slowed back down to regular levels.

"O-okay. I-I think I'm okay now." He breathed out, now facing her with his skin not as pale as before. "So… could you answer my questions now? Who are you? How did you do all that?"

Marisa scratched her head sheepishly. She had forgotten that she ignored most of his questions to focus on the small skirmish and to prevent him from going into too much shock.

"Ahh! Right! Well, like I said, I'm-"

"A human magician. Not a witch."

Another voice sounded out from the trees behind which immediately set Marisa on guard and both she and Issei turned in the direction of the voice again.

Another enemy? So soon?

Well, she still had plenty of fight left in her. That last fight, if it could even be called one, was a complete bore requiring only minimal effort.

As the darkness receded, two young ladies emerged from the trees. Issei's jaw dropped as he immediately recognized them.

"Rias-senpai! Akeno-san!" Issei cried out as the two of them stared at the two humans. "What are you doing here?"

Devils, Marisa immediately recognized. Suika and Aya had given her details on most of the devils in Kuoh. She didn't think they were hostile so far though. Rias wouldn't have saved Issei from his would-be fatal injury otherwise, although it would be rather stupid of her to let her guard down. The Lunarian Invasion had certainly showed her not to.

"We immediately came here to save you, although it looks like someone else did it first." Rias turned to look at the blonde woman who held her broom like a weapon. Slightly confused at the sight of a cleaning tool being a viable murdering weapon, she decided to continue her line of questioning. "So? Who are you and what is a human magician doing in devil territory? Why did you save him?"

Marisa resisted the urge to facepalm herself at the failed use of the term 'magician.' That was a subspecies of Youkai, generally exceling at a form of magic but also being frail by most youkai standards. Either way, she didn't feel the need to correct them. Leaving them unaware was probably for the better anyway even if it went against how she worked. But this was a potential enemy. As for answering who she was, did she risk anything answering that? Yukari had told everyone during the war that knowledge was truly power. Even the name of a person could be instrumental in learning things about them. Well, her usual answer could go well here.

"I'm just an ordinary witch. And I didn't know this was your territory." She answered energetically. "I just saw this kid having a panic attack and I followed him to make sure he was alright. I didn't think he was going to be attacked, so I jumped in."

A small interested 'hmm' came from Rias, similar to Alice, Marisa noted. It was hard to say whether the crimson haired teenager actually believed her or not.

"Either way, this is our territory. While I'm thankful that you've saved Issei, I don't know what faction you belong to whether it's a major or minor one. I'd like to request that you leave these grounds immediately. The truce is very fragile and it would be best to leave before war breaks out." Rias said as Akeno stood behind her with all the grace of a born lady.

Marisa slowly eased off on some of her guard. It didn't appear Rias was an enemy thus far. She didn't quite know what this truce was, but it sounded pretty important and it was probably something to take a note of for later. On the other hand though, she couldn't allow herself or the others to be evicted out.

"Sorry. I got stuff ta' do here. I can't leave yet." Marisa half-honestly responded. "My friends and I need ta' stay here until we finish."

Rias resisted the urge to giggle.

"Oh? So there's more than one of you here?"

Uh-oh.

Marisa's eyes widened and she nearly failed to restrain the urge to have her hand meet her face for what felt like the hundredth time. She couldn't believe that she had given that away.

"I really need to watch my big mouth…" Marisa muttered to herself, making sure that nobody heard what she heard this time.

"If staying on devil territory is your request, you and your friends may negotiate with me. It is becoming late however, so we will have to do this another time. You may find us at Kuoh Academy to further discuss this. We will expect you within the week." Rias said respectfully and Marisa disgruntledly nodded her defeat in the flow of the conversation before pointing at the kid.

"What about him?"

"We'll bring him back home safely." Rias answered deftly. "Come Issei. We'll answer all your questions and bring you home."

"R-Right." He nervously nodded, standing up slowly and moving over to the two younger ladies.

"Have a good night, Magician-san."

And with that, the three of them walked back into the darkness of the trees.

Marisa simply sighed in frustration.

"Great. I guess there's no other way around it. Now where did I leave all the bags?"

xXx

"Hey! What took so long?" Suika pouted impatiently as Marisa entered through the front door. "Didja get everything?"

"Yeah. But uhh…" Marisa scratched her head nervously and Suika raised an eyebrow in response. "I need to talk ta' you and Reisen. It's important."

Suika looked at the witch in the eye, before nodding.

"Alright. Reisen's in the office, but I'll tell her you need ta' talk. In the living room, okay?" Suika asked for confirmation.

"Sure."

Suika promptly left and Marisa maneuvered her way into the living room. It wouldn't take very long for Suika to get Reisen and each of them promptly sat around the table. Reisen was still dressed in her doctor's coat with a blouse under it while Suika wore the same thing she had worn since they had first found her in Gensokyo.

"So, what's wrong Marisa-san? Has something happened? Reisen began.

Marisa looked at both her allies before deciding to bluntly state the truth.

"Yer not gonna like this, but the devils and fallen angels found me after I went to go get the stuff we needed."

Reisen stared at Marisa, a frown marring her face while Suika had a much more outspoken response.

"What~? You too Marisa? You got spotted too? Don't tell me that yer gonna go back to Kyoto now."

"Umm, actually…" Marisa scratched her head nervously. "I accidentally told them that you guys were here too, ze."

"Ahh. Marisa-san, your verbal tick." Reisen half-heartedly pointed out while Marisa immediately noticed as well.

"Woops. My bad. Thought I got rid of it for sure years ago…"

Marisa remained silent after her stray comment, choosing to swap between looking at both Reisen and Suika for any reactions. She knew that what she was displaying outside well described how she was currently feeling. Fidgety, nervous, and just overall anxious.

Reisen's frown intensified as well with no signs of flipping it anytime soon. Suika was already reaching for her jug of sake. None of this helped her nerves any and she was beginning to feel slightly scared for what they had to say. Marisa knew that she had screwed up. It didn't really need to be said. She felt as if she had good reason that she was caught and it wasn't as if she could have just let Issei get killed by those fallen angels. After all, he had already fatally wounded once and she didn't want to risk another one.

"Hey… say somethin' will ya'?" Marisa tried to coax her teammates to say anything.

A few more seconds of silence remained and Marisa began sweating, impatiently waiting for anything to be said until finally, Reisen broke it.

"There's more to this, right? I don't think you would have revealed yourself or have been caught without a strong incentive to. What happened?"

Marisa sighed in relief. That wasn't as bad as it could be. She shot Reisen a quick look of gratitude to which the moon rabbit simply nodded and smiled back, encouraging her to answer.

Suika raised an eyebrow at the brief interaction, but chose to let it be, taking a few more gulps from her sake jug.

Thus, Marisa explained about the events that had just happened only an hour ago. How her going grocery shopping turned into a chase after Issei. Both Reisen and Suika had been slightly surprised how he was still alive after being clearly stabbed though it disappeared quickly as Rias had now obviously healed him. She went on to give details on how he looked as if he was having a panic attack, looking very sick which led her to chasing him to the park. Suika absentmindedly noted that the park was where Issei had been killed. From there, two fallen angels appeared and she revealed herself in order to defend him. The two listeners were completely unsurprised how Marisa had utterly dominated them, essentially taking out Dohnaseek in one hit while provoking Kalawarner into taking her time to charge her attack and leaving herself vulnerable. Things took a turn for the worse however, when Rias and Akeno had appeared and managed to glean information off Marisa, even though she had tried her best not to reveal too much.

The worst telling was that Marisa had accidentally revealed that she had friends and both occupiers flinched when she told them. Now, the devils were expecting a meeting with all of them.

"So, what do we think we should do?" Marisa asked, looking at Reisen with a slight hint of desperation.

Reisen took a moment to ponder, placing her hand under her chin as she attempted to find a solution.

"Having come this far, we can't go back to Kyoto. Having Aya-san taken back to avoid suspicion was acceptable and Alice-san blocked any questioning from the militant youkai and prevented us from looking too weak. However, if we all left Kuoh, I don't think she'd be able to do so again. Even if she could, losing one more of us here would be too much and it would look suspicious for sure if any of us returned for any other reason than failing." Reisen explicated, Suika giving a wry grin while Marisa looked slightly depressed at her failure.

"Don't think we have any choice then. We'll just hafta meet with them." Suika finalized and after a few more moments of thinking of another solution, Reisen slowly nodded her head. Marisa scowled at the answer, but gave her consent as well.

"We don't have to tell them everything at least, do we?" Marisa asked, minutely hopeful in that they could at least salvage the situation.

"That depends. We can be vague with many of the questions they'll undoubtedly ask, like what our business is and how long we may be here," the doctor began. "Still, it sounds like Rias Gremory is reasonable at the very least. This may actually be a good thing."

"Hard ta' see it that way." Suika commented. "She seems like it like you said, not counting whatever she's got locked up in the clubhouse of hers."

"What? Someone's locked up in her clubhouse?" Marisa looked at Suika as if she had sprouted extra horns from the top of her head.

Suika shrugged casually. "Yup. It's got some pretty weak magical seals. You and I could easily break 'em, but I didn't really want to touch it in case it had someone like Flandre."

"You didn't mention this… "Marisa muttered softly. "Reminds me of Flandre. Doesn't really gimme a good impression of Rias."

"You got us into this situation." Suika pointed out, poking her finger into Marisa's shoulder. "Yer' just gonna have to suck it up."

"Yeah yeah, you don't have to rub it in." The witch frowned at her words, but did nothing to counter it.

Reisen pat Marisa lightly on the shoulder. "Either way, we'll just have to do our best with what we know. Everyone is. I'll close the clinic tomorrow and you and I will see what we can do with the negotiation."

She then turned to the Oni. "If you don't want to come Suika, I'm sure I can make an excuse for you."

"Sure. I think the others'll come tomorrow anyway so I'll stay here just in case they do. Be rude to just have a locked place for people you invited." Suika smiled energetically, giving a thumbs up before here loud grumble burst forth from her stomach.

"Haha, oops! All this serious talk's made me hungry! Let's eat guys! We'll deal with this tomorrow! We'll worry about this when it comes." Suika sheepishly scratched her head to which both the two other occupants agreed to.

Thus, dinner passed by with casual chat of the old days of Gensokyo, temporarily forgetting about the troubles of the present. Much of the recent conversation when business was not involved was remembering the numerous hilarious moments of Gensokyo. Stories were shared such as Suika recalling the four-way brawl between herself, Byakuren, Yuugi, and Meiling to celebrate a full moon festival.

"So, does Eirin really test new drugs on ya'? Everyone always wants ta' know." Marisa inquired nonchalantly as Reisen spit out her rice.

"W-What? Master doesn't do that!" She adamantly denied, blushing at the thought of such a thing while Marisa looked at her, clearly not believing her. "I'm telling you, she doesn't! It's just a nasty rumor that others made up! Like Aya-san!"

"Uh-huh… Ya' know, most rumors _do_ have some truth to 'em. What's to say this one doesn't?" Suika pointed out to which Reisen refused to answer. "Isn't there a sayin' where denial is the first step?"

Marisa contributed to the talk by explaining how Nitori was asked to build a house with the materials given. Unfortunately, she had no idea how to build a house and instead, built a robot to build the house for her. Though it sounded like a good idea at first, she had ended up using all the materials given to her to build the robot and thus, it had nothing left to work with.

The night eventually passed as well as the morning came with no further complications. As the sun finally began to hang overhead, Reisen flipped the sign in the front of her clinic from open to closed for the entire day and with illusionary magic to hide her rabbit ears, she and Marisa ventured to Kuoh Academy. Suika had bade farewell, wishing them luck while she stayed behind at the clinic for the other members of the group to finally come. They had all agreed that there would be no spying for today.

"I know Suika said that this Academy or whatever was pretty big, but this place is huge just for teaching people!" Marisa whistled in amazement as they stood at the front gate of Kuoh Academy. "It's a lot bigger than Keine's dinky little classroom, eh Reisen?"

"On a technological and structural level, Gensokyo is behind compared to the Outside World's. It's to be expected." Reisen mentioned back. "Though, with how the Kappa and Kanako-san have been doing recenty, that distance is starting to close a bit. I fear for the day when you are allowed near a cell phone again."

"Hey, I didn't know it'd break so easily. My mini-Hakkero never breaks compared to that hunk of junk and I've had it longer." Her companion countered, pouting at her insult.

"It's made of mythical metal, of course it'd be nearly impossible to break." Reisen deadpanned while Marisa stuck her tongue out at her.

"Umm, excuse me. Ladies?"

A young man with short blonde hair and grey eyes, wearing the school uniform had walked up to them.

"School is currently session and outside visitors are not allowed right now. Would you please leave the campus?"

"Ahh, sorry 'bout that." Marisa apologized halfheartedly. "Look, we're here to talk to Rias Gremory. We heard that she's here."

His eyes widened momentarily before his tone became a bit stern. "She is here. Do you have business with her?"

"We're here to negotiate with her. May we speak to her?" Reisen questioned politely, even adding in a small bow.

He remained silent for a few moments before eventually nodding.

"Okay. Please follow me to the Student Council Room."

Without another word, he began walking deeper into the school, Reisen and Marisa trailing behind him.

As they passed by the numerous students, the both of them garnered quick glances and stares. Many of them were simply curious as to who had entered a school and why they needed a Student Council Member to guide them. Others had more hidden perverted looks, especially looking at the young looking Reisen. Marisa garnered a few looks as well, looking surprisingly well for someone aged at forty-one although they'd probably never be able to guess that. They were led up the stairs and through several different hallways along with doors that had signs with numbers and dashes on them. Just the size of the building almost reminded her of the Scarlet Devil Mansion along with its western looking appearance.

"Definitely bigger and better than Keine's school." Marisa whispered to Reisen, nudging her while Reisen shot her an unimpressed look at her remark.

Eventually, the young man stopped at a room labeled Student Council and he knocked at the door politely.

"Kaichou. I'm coming in. We have visitors."

He slid the door open and stepped to the aside, motioning for the two to head inside.

As they did so, four people were already inside. The bigger group looked at the duo curiously while the latter identified all four of the occupants of the room.

Two of them both standing up, Marisa already knew.

"Ara ara? It seems they're here for negotiations earlier than expected, Buchou." Akeno stated as Rias looked at both Marisa and Reisen with observant eyes.

"I suppose this is her Rias? The magician you discovered yesterday who helped protect your new pawn?" The lady seated at the rather lavish desk asked, calculating eyes also roaming around the foreign guests.

"Yes. This is them, although the one wearing the doctor's coat, I don't know." She responded. "I assumed you had more than one friend, Magician-san. This is only one of them. You implied that you had more."

Reisen decided to speak up here. "The other one is currently taking care of our residence while we are away."

"I see. Please, have a seat." Rias offered, gesturing towards the seat in front of the oak desk. "Would you like some tea as well?"

"Sure. I'll take it." Marisa accepted as Akeno went to the back of the room to prepare it while both the witch and the moon rabbit sat in the offered seats.

'Now, I apologize, but I didn't introduce myself last night. My name is Rias Gremory, heir to the Gremory Clan, one of the 72 pillars of the Devil Clans." Rias started. "My Queen currently preparing the tea, who was with me last night is Akeno Himejima."

"My name is Sona Sitri, heir to the Sitri Clan, one of the 72 pillars of the Devil Clans and President of the Student Council." Sona introduced herself.

"I am Tsubaki Shinra, vice-president of the Student Council." The lady with long, straight black hair did the same.

"Nice to meet you." Reisen politely said. "I'm Reisen Udongein Inaba, the doctor of the Inaba Clinic."

"Marisa Kirisame, ordinary witch! At yer service!" The self-proclaimed ordinary witch energetically named herself, grinning all the while.

Truth be told, the two Gensokyo residents already knew who each of occupants in the room were. Aya and Suika had done well in informing them who wielded any sort of power in the region and these were them. Each of them knew however, that even if negotiations broke down, they'd be able to escape rather easily.

"Now then, what brings you onto our territory and where did you come from? Not that I'm ungrateful for you saving my pawn, but it's unusual to see a human magician here. Is your group part of any faction?" Rias began questioning, and Marisa looked to Reisen who had already formulated a response.

"We're from Europe. Our long time friend's life is in danger and indisposed, so we're here in the meantime until we can find a way to save her. As for our faction, we're not part of any. We're currently our own group working together for a common goal." Reisen answered with the one of the most neutral looks that Marisa had ever seen on her, even when the former had first arrived and helped perpetrator of the Imperishable Night incident.

"And who would the person be?" Rias interrogated, hands crossed together.

"Reimu Touko. A very important person to us who has helped our group several times over. We are repaying a debt to her." Reisen's eyes looked downward, playing the sad story card as best as she could.

Marisa looked at Reisen neutrally and for her, it was hard to say whether that sadness was _truly_ faked or not. She had to admit that just those two answers alone showed how good she was when it came to more conversational base confrontations. Almost the complete opposite of her who just preferred the simple brute force to get most conflicts. Maybe she improved in the years she had been in Gensokyo under Eirin.

Reisen's vague answers weren't a complete lie either. Only those who were from the Gensokyo team knew what she was talking about and silently, she was impressed how good Eirin's assistant was at being neutral. Her own lies were always easily spotted from a mile away except from the fairies who fell for almost everything. The pause that happened afterwards might have even showed how hard it was to really respond to that question. She was sure that Reimu Touko didn't exist in this world and that it'd probably warrant a thorough search. That would take a good amount of time and by then, hopefully Yukari would be done with most of the transition of the weaker youkai who sought to leave for Gensokyo. The neutral look was probably learned by Eirin, along with whatever medical skills she had, but Marisa felt that it was almost Yukari-esque level. Although Yukari would probably be able to make these devils dance to her tune without even trying.

To ask for more than the name could be considered impolite if the speaker was still shaken over it and Marisa could see Rias softening up ever so slightly. As long as their true plans to secretly keep an eye on Kyoto's surroundings from Kuoh wasn't discovered, some personal information that wasn't _too_ telling could be given somewhat freely. They just needed to make sure no threats to the Youkai Faction that could capitalize on their currently weak state could take advantage of them while they were moving to Gensokyo.

Akeno returned to the group, placing several tea cups onto the table in front of them.

They each muttered their thanks and courteously sipped the tea before continuing on.

"Issei explained how you helped protect him easily and I saw something that you used partly into the fight that shot the laser. Is that your sacred gear?" Rias asked, eyeing Marisa with curiosity.

Sacred Gear. There was that term again. The one Aya had said was mentioned frequently by the fallen angels before finally staying in Kyoto for the time being. Aya theorized it being some kind of tool or special power that someone had, but they couldn't really get anything more, even after Suika continued her reconnaissance on Sona and Rias. Without all the knowledge on what it really was, she didn't really want to lie about it as it would be harder to get out of a resulting explanation she'd have very little information on.

"Nah. Just a tool I use to help with my magic. Like a catalyst sorta. Helps me focus some of my magic so it's easier to do what I need." The addressed human answered, half lying and half honestly. She was a terrible liar, she knew and hoped that they'd leave it at that. The mini-Hakkero was more than just a magical catalyst for her after all. It was pivotal to help with her more powerful spells that she was infamously known for, if she were to say so herself.

"May we see it?" Sona finally spoke up and internally, Marisa began slightly panicking.

"Err, I left it at home. Didn't think we'd end up in a fight, so I didn't bring it along." She lied, hoping they'd buy it and leave the matter be.

Rias gave a dry smile at them. "You're a very easy person to figure out, Marisa-san. Don't lie to us. It doesn't seem like an object you'd leave behind if it's something to assist with your magic. It's like a wizard deciding to leave their staff at home while venturing into a dangerous area."

Marisa slightly flinching made it even easier for them to confirm it.

"You're not very forthcoming with information are you? It seems like the both of you are intentionally hiding things from me. I can even faintly detect a spell hanging over you, Udonge-san though I have no idea what it is." Rias commented. "I don't know what spell it is and I don't feel it's malignant towards us, but it is suspicious. At the same time, I don't blame you, considering where you are but I hoped it wouldn't be this way. I'd be the same in your situation I think."

Reisen decided now would be a good time to retake the conversation and prevent any further damage. "I'm sorry. We have no real knowledge of you outside of your names and that you are devils."

Another lie.

"We're hesitant to give any more than we really need to. However, we are willing to compromise in order to stay in Kuoh until our business is finished."

"And how so?" The Gremory heir asked with interest.

"As I just said, I own the Inaba clinic not too far from the school. I can offer my services for you and others for free if you need them. I understand that sometimes, magical healing is more effective most of the time, but medicine can be almost as useful. I'm a skillful doctor if I say so myself and my knowledge on medicine is very expansive."

Marsa knew that was true too. She and Eirin had served as one of the two most effective medics during the Lunarian Invasion.

"For saving Issei, who is part of my peerage, I'd accept your terms right here. However, I want to add a few more conditions before we allow you to remain in Kuoh." Rias stated, which Marisa and Reisen gave their full attention. "First, if you find out anything suspicious or dangerous while in Kuoh, you'd have to report it to me or Sona. While I'm sure the both of you can defend yourself, I don't want anybody under our territory causing trouble or destroying anything, especially as you'll be staying here in the meantime. Even worse, dying against odds that you can't fight. Sona and I are much more equipped at handling them."

Marisa resisted the instinctual impulse to smirk and retort that she, Reisen, and Suika could probably stomp both of their groups if they had to. Outnumbered or not, all three of them had gotten much too used to it during the invasion.

The moon rabbit gave an affirming shake of head. "That's a fair condition. We accept to that one."

"Second then. We've deviated off on the matter of the object of Kirisame-san. "Rias brought up again. "Please show us the magical catalyst, or we'll sadly have to refuse your stay here and ask you to leave. "

Reisen glanced at Marisa, giving a slight nod to show her approval. Having no choice as well, Marisa brought her hand into the white apron pouch she had and revealed the octagonal block of wood and laid it on the table. The tool in question was hand-sized and the front of it displayed eight trigrams surrounding a circle in the very center of the mini-Hakkero. Reisen quickly glimpsed on the reactions of the others to see and to her surprise, they appeared to be weary of the thing.

"What… is this exactly? This doesn't feel like any normal magical catalyst I've ever seen before." Sona stated as she looked at the mini-Hakkero cautiously.

Marisa looked confused at the sudden turn of wariness, but answered regardless. "It's my mini-Hakkero. I use it all the time."

"Hakkero? The legendary magical elemental furnace? The same as the one that imprisoned Sun Wukong?"

Reisen gave a slight glare at Marisa and the latter realized her mistake quickly. The latter looked slightly shamed, but the others didn't notice as they were too busy looking at the procured item.

Sona stared warily at the supposedly mythical tool. "How did you get something like this? For something like this to be used as a simple magical tool… If enough power was put into this, it'd probably destroy an entire mountain. Possibly even more. There is no doubt about this."

Tsubaki and Rias both looked at her in surprise from her analysis before returning to stare at the now dangerous tool standing innocuously on the desk.

"And not including from magical purposes alone, it has much more than just one function that I can't tell at the moment. Whoever made this must have been a master craftsmen."

Marisa shrugged, grabbing the mini-Hakkero and returning it to her apron pocket. "I had a friend who gave it to me. It was a farewell present, sorta, before I left my parents."

The instant the tool was out of sight, the devils relaxed though they now looked at Marisa quite a bit more cautiously.

"I apologize if I find that a bit hard to believe. I could most likely find out how that Hakkero worked if I looked at it longer, though I don't believe you'll allow me to." The Student Council President remarked as Marisa looked at her with annoyance.

"Not really. That's mine and I'm not giving it to anybody."

"I think that's fair enough." Sona agreed.

"In that case, I'd like to move to the third condition." Rias said, looking over to the now considered very dangerous human. "I'd like to formally ask you to join my peerage."

The other devils looked to her quickly in small astonishment, including Sona though hers was much more suppressed.

Reisen immediately narrowed her eyes in immediate response.

"Sorry. That is a condition that we cannot fulfill. Though it isn't a formal, group, we would like her to remain independence from any of the major factions."

Rias looked disconcerted at the immediate refusal.

"However, maybe I can give an alternative." Reisen offered, piquing the interest of both heirs. "Instead of offering Marisa, how about instead, we do this..."

xXx

"That wasn't too bad. I mean, it wasn't the best it could be but better than I woulda done." Marisa complimented, grinning while nudging her in the arm as they began walking back to the clinic. "Where'd you pick up all this? Before all this, you were a bit more open the sorta rare times I saw ya' but now yer more… kinda like Sakuya? I dunno, yer like Alice before we became best friends."

Reisen giggled, smiling at her current partner.

"It's temporary, I promise. With how our group is I have to adjust properly. I had to guard ourselves and emotions in the negotiations, or they would've taken advantage of us. I'm sure you've seen Yukari do it plenty of times, though even when she shows hers, she almost always gets away with her true motive."

"And that's why she's so annoyin' to deal with." Marisa added. "But, there isn't really anybody else who could probably take care of Gensokyo better than her so I trust her with that. On the other hand, I'd say we're gettin' along well now right?"

"As much as a Lunar Rabbit and a human can get I suppose. Now let's head back. Suika is waiting for us after all and we'd better be quick before she ends up wrecking the clinic."

Marisa grinned.

"Sounds like a plan!"

* * *

 **A/N: Hey, now we're starting to get into the actual canon timeline and honestly, I have a mixed opinion on how this chapter went. I liked it in certain aspects, and disliked it for certain parts as well. What I liked the most? Marisa basically destroying both fallen angels and typing up the emotional dialogue, even if I feel like I'm no good at it. What I didn't like was trying to type up the dialogues between Rias and Reisen/Marisa. No matter how I tried to work that part, I just couldn't get it to feel right. It felt rushed and incomplete, like I could have added more or I didn't get their personalities right, but off the top of my head, it just slipped my grasp on what I was missing. It just felt so underwhelming. Maybe you guys will feel differently. I don't know.**

 **This is self-beta'ed and it probably will be until I either find a new beta or my old one takes up the job again. I hope you guys enjoy!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: My Friend**

"Marisa. You're here." Alice commented happily, smiling at her fellow spellcaster. "Have you been well?"

Marisa scratched her head sheepishly, returning the look with a similar one. "Of course I'm fine! Who do ya' think I am?"

Alice giggled. "Yes. I almost forgot that, didn't I? I'm glad that you're well, either way."

"Get a room, you two!" Suika practically shoved the puppeteer towards Marisa who deftly caught her, giving the both of them a mischievous grin. "And yeah, it's nice ta' see everyone here!"

The two of them graced Suika with a small glare though she wasn't affected nor did she react in the least.

"Almost everyone. Patchouli's still back in Kyoto working with Yasaka." Aya corrected, walking up to the gathering in the living room. "Ran left earlier to tell us that Yukari won't make it either."

"Eh, five outta seven is pretty good." Marisa commented, waving her hand dismissively. "Next time, I'll drag Patchy over."

"If you can. She's cooped up either in her room or working with Alice all the time. I can't even get her to really talk to me." Aya complained, pouting at her failure.

"I'm sure you'll get a chance sooner or later." The puppeteer comforted, with the tengu perking right back up.

"Eventually." She replied before turning to Reisen. "So what's been going on? Suika told us that you and Marisa went off to do some negotiations with the devils after being caught. "

Reisen nodded. "Yes. Let's have a seat first and I'll explain what happened."

The group did so, seating themselves at a square table laid in the center room while Reisen explained what had gone on during the negotiation. As the explanation went on, topics such as Marisa being caught after saving Issei had Aya smirking at the shame-faced Marisa. Then came the negotiations with the devils in which the table went silent with the exception of the moon rabbit. She had first, told them that she hadn't really directly lied to the devils during negotiation, although she did lie by omission to conceal that they were in Kuoh to spy on possible enemies of the Youkai Faction and to protect them while they were busy moving to Gensokyo. Then came the conditions in which they had managed to agree upon with the devils. The first condition of allowing the devils to use their services as a clinic for free went by without much reaction. The second condition of allowing the devils to see Marisa's mini-Hakkero had ended with a slight grimace among the group, although it wasn't the end of the world to let them see it.

The third condition had garnered the most reaction however.

"Whoa, what!? Are you serious?" Aya nearly shouted, looking at Reisen as if she had grown two heads.

"That… seems like a very risky decision, Inaba-san. Are you sure that's wise, extending that amount of trust in them? They are devils, after all." Alice gazed at her, trying to gauge a logical answer to her decision.

Suika turned to Reisen with a wry grin. "If ya' think this is the right decision, then I won't really judge too much. Any reason why ya' decided to go with this though?"

"I think it's the right move. Now that we've been caught, it's imperative that we make a good relationship with the owners of this territory. That means extending some amount of trust to them." The center of attention answered, giving her reasons for doing so. "I understand that it's risky, but there were some signs that showed that Rias Gremory may be a reasonable person to work with. I'm hoping that this will pay off."

"I won't say that it wasn't wise to give them that…" Alice glowered at the violet haired girl. "… but I hope that this doesn't end with us having to defend the Youkai Faction from the Devil Faction in the end. Or having to defend ourselves for that matter."

"I know." Reisen, with a low tone of voice, lowered her head in a moment of doubt. "Maybe it wasn't the best decision… but."

She then raised her head back up in a resolute manner. "Master and I am tired of war and skimming around as if anybody not a Youkai or not part of Gensokyo is a potential enemy. It might even be a sign that we're starting to become closed off and that's not the Gensokyo I want to be part of."

Small grimaces came from most of the occupants of the room.

"I know that we should take some caution with our surroundings, but based on my first impression of Rias-san, she didn't seem the type that would immediately throw us out without reason. I even spotted a small wince of sympathy when I mentioned how we were here for Reimu. I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt on telling her why we're really here eventually after enough trust has been garnered. It may be small currently, but in the end, I'm hoping that we'll have an ally in this world other than ourselves and the Youkai Faction and that they'll still keep our reasons a secret."

The Magician Youkai turned to Marisa. "And you're fine with this?"

Marisa shrugged casually. "I kinda reacted the same as you at first. But then I remembered something that made me think that this is the right thing to do."

"And what would that be?"

The witch smirked at the whole group, rather than just one of her best friends.

"That this is what Reimu would do."

The gathered people of the Gensokyo Team quickly twisted their heads to her for even mentioning the name, also unable to really disagree with that statement. They couldn't exactly object to it either as everyone practically knew that Marisa was Reimu's best friend without any doubt. As nobody appeared to want to talk, Marisa decided that it was her cue to go on.

"I knew her the best and you guys can't deny that. She treats everyone equally no matter what so long as ya' didn't actually threaten anybody or broke a law. It didn't matter if you were a Goddess, Youkai, or even a human. She gave everyone equal trust and treatment ta' some extent and that's why she's never really exterminated anybody who caused incidents." Marisa continued, making sure to scan her eyes across each person who gave her their undivided attention at the mention of Reimu.

"And well, Reisen's got a point. We're really thinkin' us against everybody else right now, but we weren't like that when we were tryin' ta' fight for our lives during the Lunarian Invasion. Everyone in Gensokyo from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the Youkai Mountain, and even _Eientei_ came together ta' help us win. And they were from the Moon in the first place."

The witch pointed that out and nobody could deny that either. It was true after all as eventually under one banner, they had all cooperated for mutual survival whether they disliked each other or not.

"Reimu helped protect everyone, no matter who and what you were. Even trusted them to certain limits." She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts before eventually resuming. "I'm not really the best at all this. You guys are all better at words than me, but I think Reisen's right in that we should give these guys the same trust Reimu would've. That's what I think."

Reisen rotated her head to Marisa, giving her a face full of surprise at first which the latter reciprocated with a grin. At that, the moon rabbit gave her an incredibly grateful smile which was not missed by the group at all.

"Yeah… Reimu represented the best of Gensokyo after all. I can't really find anything to argue with that. I wouldn't want to live in Gensokyo if everyone was treated like someone who could kill you." Aya eventually concluded, giving her final decision.

"Me neither. It wouldn't really be the same Gensokyo after all." Suika shrugged casually.

The group turned to Alice, awaiting her finals words.

"I suppose in our zeal to defend the Youkai Faction, we forgot what Reimu stood for. She protected Gensokyo as a whole and its ideals as a paradise for everyone living in it and not just the youkai. Not to mention equal trust no matter how troublesome she found them. To some extent at least, even if she didn't particularly like you." She finally stated before turning to Reisen and Marisa. "I'm sorry for doubting your decision, Inaba-san."

Reisen accepted the sincere apology, giving a soft smile at the puppeteer. "It's alright Alice-san. I think I might have thought the same way if I was in your place as well."

Each member of the group gave their own smiles or grins at the peaceful resolution of what could potentially have been an intense argument. After all, would Gensokyo ever be the same if everyone treated everybody else as a potential killer? Even the human village had a certain amount of trust in Keine, the village's famed protector even though she was a youkai herself. To not trust others would eventually lead to only a lonely life where the only allies you had were yourself along with your incredibly close friends which not everybody had. Not only that, but the wariness would ensure that Gensokyo wouldn't be the paradise anymore everyone hoped for and they all had no doubt that Reimu helped represent just that.

With tensions resolved and everyone in general agreement at the events, Suika took the opportunity to shift the mood towards a more positive one.

"Well, that's that!" Suika exuberantly remarked, punching a fist into her palm. "Dilemma resolved! Now, whaddya say we start cookin' all the food and drinkin' the sake? I have a feeling we're not gonna be together like this too often anyway and it'd be a waste otherwise, right?"

Reisen stood up from her seat. "I agree. I guess I'll get started on it then."

Alice stood up from her seat as well. "Actually, why don't you let me take over for today? As a form of apology, I think I should be the one to handle the cooking for our gathering today. You've handled the negotiations already and I'm sure you're tired after everything."

Reisen placed her hands on her hips sternly, frowning at the youkai. "I've been doing this for a month already Alice-san. Another day won't really make too much of a difference."

Alice however, stood her ground. "But now you'll have five people to cook for if you include yourself. I've done nothing all day and I'd rather not be idle if I can right now."

"But-."

"Okay, okay guys!" Aya immediately cut in, standing up and spreading her arms to the both of them before the minor dispute could start. "Look, just divide the duties in half among yourselves, okay? This isn't really a big deal. There's plenty of time before dinner and it's probably better if one person isn't stuck doing everything."

Alice and Reisen turned to Aya, both nodding and looking pacified at the logic before heading into the kitchen without any more argument.

The tengu sighed in relief.

"Geez, for two of the most level-headed people here, it feels weird having to break them up before it just got stupid."

Suika laughed boisterously in response. "That's just how they are! Let 'em be! Like I said, it won't be every day when we can be together like this and it can be fun ta' watch people lookin' like idiots sometimes! We can make fun of 'em later for it too!"

Aya beamed at her idea. "Maybe it'd be worth putting this in my newspaper then!"

"Sure sure! I can poke fun at Alice for it later! Go for it!" Marisa grinned as she gave a thumbs up to the journalist, practically giving her approval.

The journalist did just that as she took out her tengu notebook and began writing what she had witnessed. She then remembered that Suika had told her at one point that the latter would notify her of the major events that had happened in Kuoh. Suika vaguely remembered that and began explaining all the events that had happened after her return to Kyoto while they all waited for Alice and Reisen to finish cooking. By the time they were done, Reisen had begun bringing out appetizers for the group. More waiting eventually gave way to main courses for the whole group, this time brought out by Alice along with dolls that were assisting in carrying smaller plates. Alice then seated herself at the table before joining the light-hearted interactions of the group, reminiscing of times long past years ago. Reisen was the last to join them, bringing out a massive baked chicken.

Said giant chicken was promptly gone within less than 5 minutes.

The look of incredulity on Alice's face as Suika had somehow gobbled the biggest course down made Marisa laugh at her friend's expression. As the excitement of the reunion and the dinner began dying down, Marisa decided to break away from the group for some space, opening the sliding door to the backyard not very far from the others.

Marisa breathed the air in deeply as the cool night air was sucked into her throat before exhaling into her hand.

Thoughts began floating through her mind.

Today was a marked change for sure. For about a month, the team had been able to hide their presence from the other factions. But now, they had been found thanks to her. Aya being caught wasn't the worse as she had 'disappeared' not even a day after she had been found which raised some eyebrows, but there was nothing the spotters could do about it. She was a crow tengu which meant she could be traced back to the Youkai Faction and therefore, she'd be suspected whether or not they denied she was part of their group. Herself being caught on the other hand, as well as being unable to leave, would most certainly cause a chain reaction. The fallen angels who she fought against and escaped her would inform their allies and leaders. The devils who recently saw and negotiated with her would probably inform _their_ allies and leaders about their presence in Kuoh. Then, there was their own Youkai Faction in Kyoto that would probably need to be told about what happened and she hoped that Alice and Aya would be able to handle that front.

The difference here was that she was a human and it wouldn't be very easy to connect her to the Youkai Faction who were very vulnerable right now and needed their activities to remain a secret for as long as they could. Reisen had made it so that the third condition to Rias and Sona would be that they would reveal why they were in Kuoh after they felt they could trust them enough. It was a sign of trust from Reisen and luckily, both Rias and Sona had accepted it. Once they learned the real reason they were here was to help the Youkai Faction leave Kyoto, would they keep it a secret at their request?

Some part of her said no, but most of her sided with Reisen on that they _would_ keep their secret and even become allies with them probably. Their acceptance again, was a very good sign on that front. It only showed that Reimu's ideal of trust and wish for the paradise that was Gensokyo, peace between two natural predators and prey, had good basis and was the right way. This was what she _would_ do, probably.

Marisa frowned.

Reimu. She wondered if Reimu would support their decision. She promised herself that she'd apologize once Reimu woke up from her coma, but could she? The massive guilt she felt for allowing her to become like that had never left and who knew if Reimu would even accept it.

She looked over behind to Aya who was giggling at whatever Suika was talking about.

Aya probably felt the same, even as a youkai that supported Reimu who she thought represented the best of Gensokyo.

"Marisa?"

Alice approached her slowly, a worried look marring her face.

Marisa shook her thoughts away to address one of her best friends.

"Hey Alice. What's up?"

"I wanted to speak to you and make sure you were okay. You just roamed over here after everybody finished eating." Alice replied.

Marisa nodded, giving her usual grin as she tried to dismiss the magician's worry. "Nothin' ta' worry 'bout. I'm fine!"

"I see." She responded. "Have you been getting along with everybody?"

"Sure! Suika and Reisen are great company ya' know." The human answered. "It'd be awkward workin' with 'em if we didn't really get along. Not includin' Patchy."

She then looked over to Reisen who was downing some sake.

"It was kinda weird workin' with them at first. Reisen especially. But we've been talkin' to each other a lot recently and she's a great person ta' be friends with. We get along a lot better now."

Alice raised an eyebrow before smiling. "That's… very good to hear. I'm happy that you're opening up again to the others besides Reimi and myself. I should thank them for helping take care of you in my stead."

Marisa shrugged casually. "I guess. Doesn't seem like that big a deal. So, what's up with all the questions?"

Alice looked at her a bit guiltily. "I won't lie, I've been very worried about you ever since the end of the Lunarian Invasion. Maybe I'm worrying too much, but you weren't exactly in the best of places. A month in Kyoto doing nothing but thinking and research with Patchouli hasn't helped any."

Marisa looked down at the floor in shame. "Yeah… I was in a pretty bad spot huh?"

The opposing blonde nodded gravely and spoke in a low tone. "Unfortunately and that's an understatement. You were muttering nonsense and the times they were coherent, it was mostly about Reimu. The expression you had in your eyes and face almost defined insanity. You weren't eating either and I practically had to force you to. Even worse, you were very unresponsive to everything. I contemplated going to Eirin for assistance several times when I was staying with you."

"So…. Worse than I thought." Marisa mumbled although Alice heard anyway.

"You scared me… No." Alice shook her head. "Practically frightened me with how you were acting, having known you probably the second longest after Reimu. I still regret being the one to tell you that Reimu ended up in a coma."

"No…" Marisa looked at her with a forlorn look. "Was probably for the best if it came from you. If I'd heard it from anybody else, I'd probably have thought they were lyin'."

"Still, it was… difficult to say the least." Alice strained to reply properly, but managed to for her dear friend. "Every day, I contemplated whether it was the right thing to do. Is the truth worth it if you know that it hurts so much? Is it worth lying to yourself of the peace of the past when you know the present will hurt and that the future is not always the brightest?"

A determined look replaced the struggling one that Alice had as she stared at Marisa in utter seriousness.

"I asked Aya this. Do you know what she told me?"

The aged witch gave a wry smile. "What'd she tell ya'?"

"Nothing is the same forever, no matter how much others may hope and wish for it. That it's better to overcome whatever sorrow and regrets we have now. Then to learn from it, and make sure that it never happens again in the future. Only then can we become stronger people through our experiences."

Marisa raised an interested eyebrow. "Aya said that? I'm kinda surprised actually that she'd think a' that."

Alice gave a wan smile. "I suppose she doesn't act it, but she _is_ one of the oldest youkai that has been known since Gensokyo began. That would put her as old as Yukari at the very least."

Marisa shrugged somewhat nonchalantly. "With how she acts, ya' wouldn't think so. I guess even she says some wise things from time ta' time. Kinda like Suika."

Alice gave a sincere smile at her friend. "Yes. You're right."

Marisa turned to the night sky, a sad smile on her face. "But Aya's right and ta' be honest, there almost isn't a day I go without thinkin' ta' myself if I coulda changed things. Wonderin' if that things coulda been different."

Alice looked at her silently and Marisa took that as a sign to continue.

"It hurt. So much… I felt so guilty and I knew the reason that Reimu was like that in the first place is because we failed to protect her. I wanted ta' blame the Lunarians so badly, but I knew the truth and I couldn't take it. It was even worse when Reimi said that it wasn't anybody's fault, but everyone knows how she is. I don't even think I was the only one who felt like that."

A wry smile adorned Alice's expression. "No, you're not. Aya feels the same way, but she does a good job setting that aside. She has her own goals with Reimu when she wakes up, but she was one of her first human friends in a long time."

"Huh… that's sorta what I thought." Marisa muttered. "But anyway, I got lucky."

She turned to Alice with determination and resolution.

"Because I had you in the end. And besides Reimu, yer' my closest friend."

Alice resisted the urge to beam at that statement.

"Honestly, I wouldn't be lyin' if I said I wouldn't know what to do without you or Reimu around. Yer' two of my closest friends and I'm glad I had you to take care a' me after the Invasion. I'm glad you were there for me and even here after I asked you ta' come with me, whether Yukari knew I'd ask ya' or not. But just for everything…"

Marisa reached out to hug Alice closely, surprising the latter enough that she gave a small yelp.

"Thank you. For everything Alice."

Alice hugged back against her friend sincerely. "Of course Marisa. I'm honored. And thank you as well. For being persistent enough to become friends with someone like me."

Marisa chuckled. "No problem. I knew ya'd warm up ta' me eventually. I hope ya' still remember me when I die as a human. I know you'll live way longer than I will."

Alice shook her head. "No. No matter what, I'll never forget one of the greatest friends I'll ever have even after you pass away. And there's still time to become a youkai. You have more than enough magical power to do so."

"Ya know I won't… But thanks Alice."

"Of course."

They remained hugging silently for a while before eventually splitting apart and deciding to sit on the backyard porch. They looked up to the night sky together, remaining quiet as they took in the different stars that shined brightly, smiling and grinning all the while.

Off to the side, Suika looked on at the two of them with a smile as well, feeling the mini-Suika merge back together with her and learning the information that it had. It might have technically been eavesdropping on the two, but she didn't think she'd reveal that to them. Times like these were going to be rare now that things had changed from being under the radar to now being seen. They wouldn't be able to meet up as often anymore.

She'd let them have their time together respectfully, not counting her eavesdropping.

"It's not nice to do that you know." Aya frowned as she glowered at the Oni. "Wasn't that a private moment for them?"

Suika waved it off dismissively. "Yer' not any different, spyin' on others in Gensokyo and still here. For a while at least. And I've been doing this for a while now, so that doesn't affect me anymore."

The tengu flinched. "Geh. I guess you're right. Your cheat ability just makes it unfair. I have to do it the hard way."

"Too bad for you then." Suika practically beamed.

"Still, the reason we're here in Gensokyo." Reisen began slowly. "Obviously, each one of us has our own. To make things short, I'm here because of a debt from Master and to Gensokyo. Marisa is here because of her guilt and motivations for Reimu. But I actually never really heard Aya-san's and Suika-san's reason."

"I told Alice already, but mine isn't all that different from Marisa's. Just a different way of what I'll do after Reimu recovers. It's why I wanted to stay here and not go back to Kyoto though we didn't really have a choice." Aya commented before turning to Suika.

"I can already guess what's yer's." Suika replied to the tengu all the while grinning. "And just like you, mine ain't really all that different either."

Aya cocked an eyebrow. "Really? I sort of expected more. You were one of the ones that could be considered close to Reimu."

Suika laughed boisterously before taking another chug of sake from her jug. "You already know the experience. When ya' live as long as us, it's pretty hard to make friends that don't live all that long. I dunno how long a Moon Rabbit lives, but that's my experience. That's why I don't really have any human friends 'sides Reimu and the only other two non-human friends I have are Yuugi and Yukari whom I've known for a long time now."

The winged journalist nodded. "Yeah. Reimu would be one of my first ones."

"We Oni are pretty honest folk. Reimu's one a' the most honest people I've met. I mean, not always in what she says, but in how she feels. She's really fun ta' rile up too, which is so much better!" Suika chuckled as she beamed at the other two listeners. "Says I'm a freeloader, but lets me stick around in her shrine whenever I want, hehe!"

"I'm honestly a little surprised you know that." Reisen commented. "You typically act very happy-go-lucky."

"I'm a pretty observant person. Wouldn't know if people were lyin' cheats or otherwise though it still makes Yukari hard ta' deal with." Suika leaned back on her arms to support herself. "But anyway, I'd like to say Reimu and I are friends. One of the most amazing things I've ever seen was how happy she was when she had Reimi with her husband. You guys were there."

"Who could forget…" Aya smiled at the remembrance. "Reimu basically bawling from everybody's attendance and her husband being an embarrassed wreck was a great thing to see. Then there was Reimi..."

"When Reimu decided to pass around Reimi with everybody who attended, I was one a' the first few who got to hold her." Suika couldn't resist joining the smile-fest that Aya and Reisen were sporting. "Cutest thing ever. Years after that, I kept comin' back to play with Reimi. Eventually, I came back so often that Reimi started callin' me 'Auntie Suika.' I've never been an Aunt before but that smile she had told me that it was probably one of the best things of her life. So in the end, I kept comin' back to help take care a' Reimi whenever Reimu or what's his face wasn't around. Long story short though, I'm here 'cause of Reimi and Yukari."

Reisen cocked an interested eyebrow. "Yukari? I think you'd be the first person here to be here for reasons other than Reimu directly."

Suika shrugged nonchalantly. "They're my friends. What can I say other than that? Yukari asked me to come to protect Gensokyo and I agreed. Reimi's what I'd call my niece and she's kinda like Reimu in ways, but she's got that undeniable kindness from both her parents. That's what I'm here for too to protect. Reimu coming back is another reason I'm here."

"To be honest, as someone closer to Reimu, I thought you'd be more emotionally hurt." Reisen pointed out. "Or is that because you claim you're drunk all the time."

"Could be." Suika half-heartedly agreed. "Like I said, I never had much friends in the first place and I knew Reimu would come and go sooner or later. It's just a fact I accepted a long time ago with most of the human acquaintances I've made. Ya' get used to people coming and going when ya' live as long as us. Reimu might be one of my first human actual friends, but that doesn't make her an exception. 'Sides, she's not dead. She's in a coma and she's got a chance. Plus, I know we won't fail."

"That's a lot of confidence in her. Sure you're not bias there?" Aya grinned although Suika beamed in response.

"Maybe. That's just how much faith I have in us." Suika took a moment to look at the two seated people, also nodding her head over to Marisa and Alice on the porch. "Yukari asked us ta' be here right? That means we're the ones trusted ta' be out here to help save Reimu and Gensokyo. There's others back in Gensokyo helpin' like the Kappa with the logistics and whatnot, but we're the ones dealin' with the unknown. If Yukari's got that much trust in us, than I will too. Simple as that."

"Guess you're right." Aya chuckled. "In the end, everybody's here because of Reimu somehow."

"What about Patchouli-san? I think we can both agree that it's hard to say that Patchouli-san is friends with Reimu in the first place." Reisen questioned.

Suika waved it off dismissively. "Still Reimu somehow. Pretty sure Remilia's got some hand in that but that's fer another time. Either way, if ya' think about it, we've all got pretty simple and similar reasons on why we're here. Now then…"

She poured each person at the table a full sake cup.

'How 'bout a toast? Gonna be a while 'fore we can all get together again so let's do this while we can!"

"Alright, sounds good!" The reporter agreed, raising her filled sake cup.

"I agree too." The doctor performed the same action.

"Ready? 3, 2 , 1…" Suika counted down before each person shouted loudly.

" **Kanpai!** "

xXx

The next morning before the sun actually rose, Alice and Aya gave their farewells with warm smiles before returning back to Kyoto. They had given the reason that they risked being caught if they left later as most others would still be asleep at the time they left. Childish as it was, Marisa had asked everyone to group together, hands in the center to shout the name of their team as a cheer. There were various reactions such as Alice being slightly miffed over it, Reisen smiling softly and Suika laughing exuberantly, but Team Gensokyo was left in good cheer and spirits (along with some minor headaches) as they split apart back to their respective areas.

Their duties were set back upon them as Reisen reopened the clinic and began treating patients once again. Marisa returned to assisting while continuously buying supplies for the team. Suika had decided to forgo spying for the meantime though it was to her regret as Rias and Akeno had shown up at the clinic the day Alice and Aya. They had apparently come to see the Inaba Clinic in person as they had never actually seen it before and wanted to memorize the location for a future date along with wanting to see the third member of the group. They were surprised to see a little girl with orange hair dressed in a tattered pale pink blouse, a long purple skirt, and three chain accessories tied to her belt. Her horns were hidden thanks to Marisa's light bending illusion spell. They immediately had their suspicions with her appearance, although they couldn't determine who or what she really was when she introduced herself honestly. They eventually left peacefully although the peace wouldn't last very long.

Only two days later, Rias and her entire peerage burst through the door of the clinic.

"Inaba-san! Are you here? I need your help!" She yelled as Reisen and Marisa immediately came to the front to see what the emergency was, but not before making sure the light bending illusion spell was in effect on Reisen.

As they arrived, Reisen took a quick glance at the whole group that was here. For sure, this was Rias' entire group and Issei was being carried by the white haired girl Koneko on her shoulder.

It seemed they needed her assistance already.

"Bring him to the emergency room. Hurry." She ordered with authority as she quickly led the group deeper into the clinic. As they reached the room, she gestured inside and Koneko brought him in and laid him on the table.

"Leave this to me. You can remain out here while I treat him." She ordered as the peerage obeyed and sat outside the emergency room and the door was closed with the electronic sign on top turning red to signify an operation.

Marisa took a seat across the peerage as they looked at the room with varying emotions. Rias looked absolutely forlorn at what had apparently happened to Issei. Akeno had a similar look, although it was hidden a little better. Kiba simply had a deep frown and if she looked a bit closer, there was scowling at the edges of his lips. Koneko showed the least emotion and the only sign of anything was her slightly narrowed eyes.

"So… what exactly happened? It hasn't been that long since we had negotiations and already ya' need us." Marisa asked, finally managing to gather the courage to break the silence as she gained their attention.

"Issei was taking care of a contract for us that had overlapped with Koneko's. However, it turned out the client was killed by an exorcist and there was a barrier that prevented us from teleporting in for a while. Eventually, we managed to save him, but not before he took several hits by a weapon blessed by light." Rias answered somewhat stoically, though the depressed look completely contrasted her tone.

Marisa raised an interested eyebrow at the mentioned element of the weapon. "Light? Is that some weakness of yours or something? I saw a little black smoke coming from his wounds and I don't think that's normal."

Rias nodded in confirmation. "That's right. We devils can't stand anything that has too much light, including weapons and attacks. Even a slight scratch can cause excruciating pain and weakness. Low level devils like Issei even more so."

"That would mean magic is involved right? Can't 'cha heal him with yer' magic?" She replied with curiosity though the downtrodden general look of the entire group immediately told her no.

"Rias and I can heal basic wounds, but for wounds made by light weapons, it's much harder to do because the light lingers around it and makes it difficult. We took a risk on coming here to see if perhaps the Clinic could do it faster and better than us." Akeno spoke up as the witch took the information in.

Well, that meant most of her light based attacks, mainly her lasers, would pretty much incinerate most devils then. She specialized in light and heat magic and all of the variations of her Sparks were the prime examples of it, including Blazing Star. Not that she'd tell them that. Being in an agreement didn't mean revealing everything you had. At the least though, she'd try comforting them in the meantime.

"Don't worry. Reisen's one of the best healers you'll ever see. Issei won't die." Marisa reassured, leaving out that Eirin was much better though she had no doubt they wouldn't even know who she was in the first place.

Then, as if confirming what she said, the electronic sign that was red, signifying an operation in progress turned off and Reisen opened the door to the room. The entire group stood back immediately and Reisen turned to them.

"Issei-san will be fine. His wounds weren't lethal and easily treatable. He has two medium-sized slashes across his back and his legs had a bullet hole in each one. Luckily, each one was clean and they were easy to disinfect, clean, and bandage. For the slashes, they weren't very deep at all. I've given him painkillers that'll last for about 36 hours as well as a pill that will boost his natural cell regeneration to a much higher speed, approximately 5 times faster than normal. Normally, I wouldn't give this at all due to the risk involved of overworking the natural cell regeneration process and shortening the lifespan, but given his devil nature and how much more durable they are in general, I've decided to do so. He will be physically healed within the next few hours." Reisen gave her summary to which Rias and the group began smiling again.

"I can't thank you enough for helping him. You have my gratitude, yet again." Rias bowed respectfully.

Reisen bowed back as well. "Something to note, I ran the quickest scan I could and found foreign traces of energy in his system that are causing some small lingering, internal damage. The pill I gave him will outpace that but the energy is something I haven't seen before and I have no idea how long it'll last so keep a close eye on it. He'll be a bit sore, but it's inconvenient at most and the painkiller will take care of that until his healing is finished."

"Oh my… That is… almost phenomenal. I must admit. You're very skilled at healing." Akeno said softly, turning away and feeling slightly inadequate after being given the final result.

"Thank you. Lastly though, if he still feels pain in the afflicted areas after 48 hours, please come back immediately so that I can scan him again to see if the malignant energy is there."

The group looked very impressed overall at both the professionalism presented, as well as the ability to heal wounds that would have severely crippled or even killed a devil.

"He's currently asleep, but he'll probably be awake in a few hours if you wish to stay. In the meantime, I'll write up a report and hand it to you so you have the instructions you'll need." The moon rabbit said before heading to the office.

"See? What'd I tell ya'?" Marisa practically beamed at the group of devils. "Reisen's the best healer here. She'll know what to do."

"I don't doubt that anymore after hearing what she said. It's always been difficult healing wounds caused by holy weapons." The blonde boy wearing the Kuoh Academy boy's uniform commented with the smallest hint of contempt at the very end.

"Now." Rias grabbed the group's attention, addressing them with authority. "The Occult Research Club is dismissed for today. Yuuto, Koneko, please stay together until you successfully reach back safely. Akeno and I will stay here and wait for Issei to wake up."

"Yes, Buchou."

The formerly mentioned group obeyed, leaving the clinic through the way they entered.

"Looks like everything's done for now. I'm gonna head upstairs to sleep. See ya'." Marisa gave a backward wave of her hand to the two devils who promptly gave her good night. "And let Reisen know to get some rest afterwards too."

They each gave their confirmations and Marisa headed upstairs as promised. Instead of heading to the room that she and Reisen shared though, she headed to Suika's room. It was jarred open slightly and Marisa entered quietly.

"Suika, ya' here?"

"Hey Marisa! Any idea what's goin' on down there? Heard somethin' about that kid Issei getting hurt again." The short girl asked, hands on her hips in a somewhat joking manner.

"He's got a real knack for getting himself killed somehow." The human magician remarked, sighing in frustration. "Reisen's already healed him up, but I'm pretty sure he's gonna get himself hurt again somehow. He's a real butt monkey and it's hard to keep him alive if he keeps gettin' attacked."

Suika giggled at the proclamation. "So what do ya' need me to do?"

"Well, Reisen's probably gonna suggest this anyway, so I might as well do it for her."

The idea was relatively simple. With Issei's tendency to get hurt, it was probably a good idea to keep a permanent eye on him. And who'd better than someone who could turn into something intangible, unable to be touched or even struck in that form while looking relatively innocuous.

"Eh? Pretty devious of ya'. It's not really his fault, but I guess we can take advantage of it."

Suika had agreed as did Reisen much later after Rias and Akeno had left the clinic. Issei was no longer in the clinic either, brought home by his fellow devils via magic circle.

The plan itself wasn't complicated. They didn't know where Issei lived, but Suika could easily just spread herself amongst the entire town until she found him. From there, she could tail him innocently to make sure he wasn't targeted yet again. If he was attacked, then she'd reveal herself and protect him as she was the most powerful youkai here in the town now.

The next day, Suika had spotted him attempting to do pull-ups at a nearby park to which she quickly gathered the majority of her consciousness that was spread out. He managed to successfully do a few before falling to the ground pitifully although Suika mentally commended him for his effort. Then, a young-looking nun approached him and Issei warmly greeted her as a friend. She found it a bit strange, as she was sure that a nun and a devil weren't technically supposed to associate with each other. She supposed that Issei didn't really care though and neither did the nun apparently. After several pleasantries, he ended up leading her to a nearby place to get food before leading to other areas.

That was when Suika had realized what Issei was doing with this girl that she could now name.

They were dating! Courting! He was trying to court this girl Asia!

She recognized Reimu's dead husband attempting this years ago!

Nonetheless, she thought it was pretty cute considering how red their faces were and how much enjoyment they were getting out of the various places Issei was leading Asia. Asia had certainly enjoyed getting the stuffed animal toy that she hugged with all her might against her chest as she looked at the young man with adoration in her eyes.

"I'll treasure this as a symbol of our friendship!"

She declared that, but Suika could easily see the blushing cheeks as Issei asked her to follow him to some more places for her to enjoy.

Eventually, they stopped at a vacant area and immediately, Suika was on-guard. This was a very good place to ambush them. They were alone with the two of them doing nothing but talking whereas last time, several other people were around. Asia was currently discussing her past with Issei, being a nun with a Sacred Gear that could apparently heal wounds of any nature so long as they weren't out of her capabilities. As soon as she finished Issei declared they were friends despite being on opposing sides, a fallen angel had descended upon them, standing in front of the massive, yet shallow water pool.

Instantly, Issei stood in front of Asia in a protective manner.

"I-It's you! Yuuma-chan! The one who killed me!" Issei declared as fear for his life shivered throughout his bones, especially as he saw her forming that pink light spear that she had killed him with. However, courage also counteracted his fear for the weapon at the thought of his friend behind him.

"Oh? Freed was wrong. It looks like you are still alive." She sneered at the boy. "I came here to bring Asia back, but instead, I find the same idiot that is somehow resilient enough to live through three of our confrontations. You won't survive this time though."

"Well, you won't either!" Suika shouted from above as she finished reforming himself in the air.

"What!? Who said that!?" Yuuma asked as she looked around randomly to determine the location of the voice.

"Raynare! Look out! Above you!" Another voice shouted as Raynare did just that to look at the hammer fist that Suika had formed aiming right at her.

She reacted just in time, leaping away from her spot as Suika's fists smashed into the shallow pool, causing a massive crater about 15 feet in diameter to form.

"Hoh? Not bad." Suika complemented as she stood up from the spot she had crushed. "I thought I had ya' there."

"Tch, another interruption! And it's just a kid! Good thing we planned for this though." Raynare cursed under her breath. "Dohnaseek! Mittelt! Kalawarner! Grab Asia. Ignore the boy. He's useless to us with his weak Sacred Gear!"

Instantly, Suika reacted and within less than a second, she knew that she wouldn't make it in time to the pair after her missed attack. The distance was too far from her, but she had an alternate plan though.

"Not so fast!"

As the three fallen angels descended to grab Asia, she formed a black sphere in the front of her knuckles and punched it towards them. They dodged the attack, looking very intent on completing their objective. However, they found themselves impeded as all of a sudden, they were unable to move at all. They were straining to fly though they moved nowhere at all. In fact, they were getting farther away from the girl and it finally dawned upon Dohnaseek.

"We're getting sucked back up from that sphere!" He shouted to his comrades.

"Then what do we do!?" Mittelt asked as she tried to speed herself up though it was ultimately futile.

Suika gave no more time for them to do anything as she leapt towards them, fist clenched firmly. She brought it upwards towards Dohnaseek.

The resounding shockwave practically boomed as his eyes rolled up towards his eye sockets as his ribs caved in from the brutal force that was Suika's punch. His mouth dropped under no choice of his own as blood was spat from the overpowering uppercut and his stomach pulsed with indescribable pain. Then, he was launched at top speed towards the sky like a rocket as he blinked out of existence away from the battlefield.

"Huh. Woops." Suika sheepishly said as she remained floating in the air. "Guess I need ta' tone it down way more. I thought my fist would go through his stomach for a sec' there. Wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't survive after that."

"No way…" Kalawarner whispered in shock at the brutality that had happened. "D-Dohnaseek…"

"Asia! Look out!" Issei suddenly yelled as Asia yelped as a pink light spear was planted between them. It exploded, knocking both of them away from each other.

Raynare attempted to take advantage of the shock to try and fly to pick up Asia while Suika was focused on her other two comrades and Issei was still dazed.

"Nope!" Suika denied as she tossed her metal chain that was wrapped around her waist. It wrapped around Raynare'ss leg as she flew and she was stopped completely, falling flat on her face on the water.

Suika then pulled the chain, dragging Raynare towards her and she cocked her arm back in preparation.

Once again, another shockwave reverberated in the air as Raynare was sent crashing back down, skidding along the stone floor at a speed fast enough to cause massive friction burn. The cry of pain that came out of her mouth was not missed by her either as she rolled and tumbled around like a rag doll.

Then Suika turned around to the one remaining fallen angel attempting to kidnap Asia.

Wait, one?

"Iyahhhh!" Asia screamed as Kalawarner dragged her away and Suika immediately turned her head to her.

"Stop right there! Or I'll be forced to kill her!" The blue haired fallen angel threatened as she pointed a spear at her throat.

"Asia! No!" Issei shouted as he tried to run towards them, stopping as she quickly poked Asia's throat just a bit harder causing a drop of blood to drop down.

Internally, Suika cursed as she realized Raynare's plan. The explosive light spear was meant to separate Issei and Asia away from each other while her three allies were there to distract her. Then, Raynare would swoop in to take Asia away and if she failed, then one of the other fallen angels, being on opposite sides away from her, could do so instead. It was pretty simple and had she had enough speed, she would have been able to put a stop to it immediately. Now though, she had a hostage situation and Issei was looking very scared for Asia's safety. Worst of all, her bullets were mostly too big or were explosive. They'd most likely hit Asia as well and while her physical strength dwarfed everyone she'd seen so far, her danmaku and bullets were sub-par in comparison.

The oni descended down next to Issei, shielding him from the fallen angels as they regrouped although Raynare was obviously limping in pain while stumbling every once in a while.

If the situation wasn't so serious, she would've commented on how she looked like someone who had their back broken. Then again, she hadn't really put all that much effort into it since these people obviously couldn't take it.

"Let us get away. Or you'll know what happens…" Kalawarner threatened again, though her face was utterly pale at what had just happened.

She was nervous for sure, but there was nothing Suika felt she could do without doing any more damage.

"Alright. Fine. Not like we got a choice." Suika reluctantly agreed, as she harshly looked at them.

"W-what are you talking about!?" Issei practically shouted from behind her, grabbing her shoulder. "We can't let them leave with her!"

"You see any other choice kid?" Suika pointed out.

" _I can't leave her! Friends don't leave friends behind!"_ He yelled at the top of his lungs as Mittelt supported Raynare up into a standing position.

Despite his bold declaration, his slight injuries on his legs ensured no further moves against the fallen angels as Suika remained impassive. Suika blocked his way forward with an arm just in case and he collapsed onto the ground in utter hopelessness.

"Come on. Let's get out of here! I don't want to stay here any longer with that monster!" Mittelt fearfully stated as her other two comrades agreed and began flying into the air at a slow pace with Asia in Kalawarner's arms with weapon still pointed at her.

As they got farther away and Suika deemed it enough that they'd find it difficult to see what she was doing, she pulled out a strand of her hair and tossed it onto the ground. As it landed, it transformed into a tiny version of her who saluted.

"Follow 'em. Keep an eye on 'em till ya' find out where they're headed." Suika ordered and the tiny Suika was off, flying in the same direction of the Fallen Angel who had gone out of sight on the horizon.

Finally, she sighed in frustration as she seated herself on the ground next to Issei.

"I really messed up…" She muttered to herself before looking towards her current partner. "Hey, kid. You alright?"

"Why… Why am I so weak? Why can't I protect anybody…?" He sobbingly asked as tears dripped down his face and he pounded the floor with his hand. "I had to be saved again…! And I even lost Asia!"

"Easy there. We're not gonna leave her behind for long." Suika scratched her head in slight awkwardness. She wasn't really used to dealing with a crying kid like this.

"Y-yeah…" He shook his head as slow resolution dawned on him. "I-I don't have time to be depressed right now because we're gonna save her from those bastards! We can't let Asia stay with them!"

As she shouted however, he then realized something.

"Ahh that's right! You saved me!" Issei exclaimed. "T-thanks! I would've been killed again if it weren't for you. It just never seems like I can do anything without someone coming in to save me every time."

"Not a problem kid." Suika grinned, giving him a thumbs-up.

"But uhh… who are you? You're way too strong to be a kid… And I've never seen you before." He tentatively questioned, looking at Suika curiously as she barely reached up to his chin.

"I'm Suika, part of the Inaba Clinic! We've been tryin' ta' keep ya' alive since you always get into so much trouble. All three of us there have helped you now." She introduced herself cheerfully as she nudged Issei in the chest with an elbow lightly though he winced at the pressure regardless.

"Oh right! Buchou told me about you guys!" He remembered off the top of his head.

A-are you going to help me get her back?" He asked hesitantly. "Please! I'll do it alone if I have to, but I'm going to save Asia no matter what!"

"If you go alone, yer' gonna get killed. Ya' know that right?" Suika bluntly stated. "Ya' couldn't even handle one of them in the time I was distracting the others."

"It doesn't matter if I can or not! I can't leave her behind!"

Resolve flared in his eyes, though it was hard to say whether it was actually that, or just him being doggedly persistent in what he believed in. That wasn't to say it was wrong, but it was ridiculously reckless. As interesting as he was, her job was to protect him and leading him into an area where he could so easily die was suicide. Even if he had the right idea, he didn't have the current power or experience to come out alive if he rushed in. He would definitely die alone. He needed her help.

She sighed again in frustration. She didn't even think the devils knew he was hanging out with someone on the opposite side though she didn't seem to care and neither did he for that matter. Nonetheless, taking on the enemy side while protecting him would be too difficult to do for her lonesome.

"Fine. I'll come with ya'." She finally acquiesced as Issei grinned in triumph. "But I'm bringin' somebody along alright?"

He nodded his head fiercely with no objections whatsoever.

"Alright, come with me." She instructed as she began heading back in the direction of the Inaba Clinic with Issei in tow.

xXx

Reisen was very unhappy to hear that Issei was going to storm the enemy headquarters as soon as the mini-Suika that Suika sent out to tail the fallen angels had come back. They were at a church. The very same church that Aya had found them at before moving back to Kyoto to prevent any connections from being made. At least there was the consolation that Issei had actually survived under Suika's watch, but also the downside of him wanting to recklessly save his friend without too much thought put into it.

Currently, Issei and Suika were back at the Inaba Clinic where the latter had called for both Reisen and Marisa to discuss the situation.

"The church is filled with numerous exorcists, along with four other fallen angels." Reisen told him, and although he grimaced, she could see that his mind wasn't budging.

Suika shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "Three. I sent one of 'em flyin' somewhere. Either way, he won't change his mind. He's gonna go alone no matter what and it's not like we can keep an eye on him all the time. I'm just here to get Marisa so we have at least one more person that can protect him. She and I could easily beat up anyone in that church if those fallen angels or whatever are the strongest they've got, but protectin' him is the problem."

"My magic ain't really for defense. I've got a few personal ones in case people get close ta' attack me, but nothin' for him. At most, I can lay a whole bunch a' bullets so that no one will wanna come near him, but if he moves at all, it makes it useless. I don't have any real defensive spells to shield him like Patchy." Marisa nodded towards the top of Suika's head where there were no horns visible at the moment, and each member of the Gensokyo Team knew what she was talking about. "He doesn't give me the impression that he'll stay by the side either while we go get her back."

Reisen pinched her forehead to soothe the incoming headache she knew would come.

"Then that leaves contacting Rias-san to provide us some help."

"Umm…" Issei cut in and the three ladies turned to him. "Could we… not tell Buchou? I don't want to get her involved if I can. She's done enough for me and this is my own problem."

Reisen shook her head. "Unfortunately, we're under contract with Rias-san to inform her of any strange and dangerous things happening in town and that includes the fallen angels that attacked you. We're supposed to let them handle things like this, but we thought since you were attacked so many times, it'd be a good idea to keep an eye on you."

"Well, thanks but… Dammit!" He pounded the wall with his fist. "I can't just leave Asia there though! And I don't want to be a burden while you guys do all the work! I'll do anything to be able to go even I have to do it alone!"

"There's just no helpin' it kid." Suika pat him on the shoulder comfortingly. "You're still inexperienced compared to everyone else. We can beat them, but we risk lettin' you die since none of us are all that great at guarding other people. We usually just smash anybody in our way without too many second thoughts on consequences."

"You're so strong though! You're even stronger than Koneko-chan and she's a Rook! I know you can help me!" He countered, though the group didn't know what a chess piece had to do with power.

"And you don't have to worry about me! I can fight too! Look!" Issei raised his left arm into the air.

"Sacred Gear!" He called out and his left arm glowed red before forming a red, claw-shaped gauntlet covering his left arm up to his elbow. The green jewel in the center of the back of his hand glowed with a green tone and spikes protruded out of the sides. With the transformation complete, the group couldn't help but look at the new tool that Issei had.

"Ooo…" Suika began poking at the gauntlet as if it was a toy. "Looks interestin'. So what does it do?"

"Buchou says it doubles my power for a while. With this, even I can fight for a while, right? Isn't this enough?" He desperately asked for confirmation as the others looked at each other for a while.

Reisen let out a deep breath filled with exhaustion.

"Fine. But I'll still have to call Rias-san to let her know what's happening." Reisen gave in and Issei was conflicted between thanking them for their assistance, or crying because Rias was now going to be involved whether he wanted to or not. "We can't have too many repercussions you probably don't really know about. I'm sure they'll send some assistance, so make sure you guys are all safe by the time they arrive."

She then turned to Suika. "Are you sure about this though Suika-san? If you do, your powers will be revealed."

Suika waved her hand dismissively. "It was bound to come out sooner or later. It's not really that big a difference. Besides, they won't be able to tell."

Though she said that. Reisen could detect the hidden message in it. Suika had power over density and when applied to her already phenomenal physical strength, it wouldn't look any different visually. People usually ended up looking for visual effects unless they were able to detect signs of it internal workings. Since it was an internal effect on herself though, it would be much harder to detect let alone figure out. To the inexperienced sensor or eye, it'd simply look as if Suika was an overwhelmingly powerful in the physical department. They wouldn't be wrong, but they wouldn't get the full story and get knowledge of all of Suika's powers.

"I see. Alright then. I'll leave this to you and Marisa." Reisen accepted her decision. "Good luck, and be safe. All of you."

"Heh. We'll be back before ya' know it. Don't worry Reisen!" Marisa smirked, confidence practically radiating off of it. "Alright, come on kid. Let's go get your friend."

"Yeah. Thanks!" He graciously acknowledged. "For helping me and Asia! And, you can call me Issei!"

Suika slapped him several times on the back lightly though Issei winced in pain at each one.

"Ahaha! Sure Issei! Let's go!"

Thus, the three of them left, leaving Reisen alone in the clinic. For the meantime, there were no visitors at the moment and it was a good time to probably inform Rias of what was going on.

She found herself giggling at just the thought of devils using _cell phones_ to have long-distance communications in the outside world. Sometimes, the supernatural residents were much more like humans than they thought, including herself. Then again, Yukari had one too and it was a smartphone on top of it.

Dialing in the number on her office phone, the phone buzzed a few times to signify the connection being made.

 _Click._

" _Hello? Inaba-san?"_

"Ahh, hello Rias-san. We've come across a situation."

" _What? A situation? What happened?_

"Issei-san's friend was recently kidnapped by the fallen angels. He's heading to the church along with the Suika-san and Marisa-san to rescue her."

" _What!? That… I should have predicted this…"_

Reisen could practically taste the initial horror in her voice over the phone.

" _Thank you for telling me. I'll need to get permission to remove those fallen angel by force as soon as possible. I'll send Koneko and Yuuto to help right away."_

That was the white haired girl with youkai level strength and the swordsman if she remembered correctly from when Aya and Suika had scouted them weeks earlier. Both of them were weak to average fighters in general when compared to all of Gensokyo's veterans in terms of both danmaku, although that just mainly improved dodging ability immensely since there were no actual injuries, and legitimate combat.

" _You may want to prepare the clinic for more injuries. The church is filled with exorcists and fallen angels who can all use light magic or have light weapons, which can severely cripple or even kill devils at slightest touch if they aren't used to it. I'll be there myself later as well, but until then, please be ready in the case anything happens."_

And with that, Rias hung up. Reisen had no doubt that she'd act as quickly as she could and it'd probably be best that she prepared the emergency room in the case there were injuries. She predicted that Marisa and Suika would probably come out unscathed. Worst case, Marisa would take several hits although with her amazing speed and evasiveness from the Spell Card Duels, further improved as the years went by and the Lunarian Invasion that took place, even that seemed highly unlikely.

The weakness to light magic that devils apparently had was what intrigued her.

"Could it be…?" Reisen muttered to herself, thinking out loud. "Could that have been the lingering energy in Issei-san yesterday?"

Marisa had mentioned to her about the weakness, but hearing Rias confirm it through her words solidified this thought process. If it really was a weakness, then she needed to ensure a way to remove it to prevent any damage just in case.

She let loose a deep huff of breath in exhaustion. She really had her work cut out for her.

xXx

"No…! No! It's you!" Mittelt shrieked as she gazed at the approaching group with absolute terror in her eyes. "How did you find us so quickly? I thought we'd have time to finish the ritual before you'd get here!"

Suika grinned, rotating her arm in a circle as if preparing for another apocalyptic punch of death.

"If ya' run, we'll let'cha live. If ya' don't, sorry! We'll just hafta knock ya' aside!" The oni cheerfully announced as the fallen angel's eyes widened into the size of dinner plates.

She flew away in utter fear for her life, abandoning her post at the front door.

"T-That was quick…" Issei commented, looking at the short girl next to him with slight trepidation. "You're so strong that you just scared her away!"

"Hahaha!" Marisa laughed as she pat him on the head like a pet. "She's a pretty scary monster, huh?"

Suika pouted at her comrade's statement. "Hey~! I'm not scary!"

"Don't believe her. She could probably shatter our ribs with a finger she didn't watch it." Marisa added while poking at Suika's face, only making her somewhat irritated at the witch which in turn, made her laugh.

Issei wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond, instead choosing to face the massive wooden doors that was closed. He kicked it open, forcing both doors to swing open, and came to the view of a white-haired man wearing a gray cleric coat and white clothing underneath.

"Yo, yo, yo! Shitty ass devil! That bitch Raynare said you'd be here after all!" He shouted with utter glee as he stared at the group. "Oh? You brought some more of your fucking friends! Great! I'll kill them after I kill you!"

"Freed!" Issei immediately recognized, scowling at him as he activated his Sacred Gear and brought his red gauntlet up to his face. "Where's Asia!?"

"Oh, that shitty nun! She's down there at the ritual right now! But you're lucky you know!" Freed swore as he brought his weapons, a long pistol and a light sword to bare. "Normally, devils die the first time I meet them! I'm just that good! But you're alive and you're a devil so I need to fucking kill you! Just the look on your face pisses me off!"

He then began laughing in an insane manner, tongue sticking out.

Marisa frowned at the exorcist as she bent her legs, ready to dodge as she took notice of the gun Freed was holding.

"Hey, Issei. Who's he?" She questioned, hands ready to cast a magic spell should it be required. "I don't remember seein' him before."

"He's Freed! Yesterday, that bastard attacked me and he threatened to… rape Asia!" He angrily replied, teeth gnashing at the thought of the latter.

"Meh, I won't get to anymore since that bitch Raynare is killing her. But that's alright! I'll just make sure to make it up with all of you instead!"

Freed then raised his pistol and began firing rapidly firing at the group. They immediately jumped into action as they dodged the bullets fired at them. Where Suika had leaped was directly towards Freed and the floor creaked as if it was almost unable to bear the force of her legs pushing off. The exorcist fired at her, but to his surprise, they simply bounced off of her with no wounds whatsoever.

"Seriously?" He asked before he ducked under her swinging arm just in time as she crashed into the pillar behind him, collapsing it onto her.

"Hey careful Suika! Yer' gonna cave the entire building in and then everything'd be pointless!" Marisa cried out as she jumped into the fray.

"Pay attention to me you bitch!" He demanded as he began swinging his sword around skillfully.

Marisa ducked and weaved away from Freed's sword as he slashed in various directions. Eventually, he got close enough for an overhead though Marisa managed to conjure up a blue magical star barrier outlined with a circle, up in time and knocked him away. As he was momentarily stunned, she raised her arm and shot a moderately sized, green star bullet at him from her hand. As it collided onto his body, it exploded on him and sent him backwards. Taking the opportunity again, Marisa leapt into the air to float temporarily and quickly brought her hands together to barrage him with several more colored star bullets that didn't explode, but sped towards Freed and pelted him with blunt force. He was sent flying backwards even further although he flipped backwards in the air to recover himself from crashing into another pillar.

"You're a fucking magician! You bitch! I'll kill you first just for that!" He pointed his gun at her again and fired. She was able to evade his attacks easily and she countered with her own, using the same type of volley that just recently struck him. This time, he was ready as he brought his sword up and cleaved through the bullets, forcing them to dissipate before they hit him.

"That won't work again! But you can float huh? Here!"

He took the hilt of his sword and threw it at Marisa speedily like a throwing knife.

"Look out!" Issei cried out as he jumped in between and batted the weapon away with his gauntlet.

"I coulda gotten outta the way easily, but thanks anyway!" The witch gave a cocky grin as Issei took it in stride and they both landed safely on the floor.

"Oh, got rid of my weapon! Plenty more right here you shitty devils!" Freed announced, reaching into his coat for another hilt, lighting up the blade and replacing his thrown one.

He was completely unaware that Suika had managed to get out of the rubble in the meantime and sped towards him from behind.

She punched him in the back and his bones creaked in pain and he collapsed onto the floor. Suika leapt back when he suddenly swung his sword behind him wildly and he stood back up to face her.

"That hurt! Ow!" He cried out in pain as Suika rushed into close quarters and gave him two solid punches into the gut, causing him to drop his weapons and kneel. Then, she proceeded to get behind him again and encircle her arms around his waist, trapping his arms and lifting him off the floor.

It was almost a comedic sight as Suika was much shorter than Freed and he flailed around to get out of her grip.

"Let me go you bitch!" He tried kicking her to no avail as she turned him around to face Marisa and Issei.

"Here's your chance Issei! Give 'em a good punch!" Suika shouted as she tightened her grip, causing Freed to grunt in pain.

"Right!"

The teenager raised his gauntlet in front of him.

 **[Boost!]**

"Raaaagghhhhh!" He began running forwards towards Freed, arm raised at first.

Then, he got closer and his arm cocked back.

"Damn it! Let me go!" Freed screamed at the top of his lungs as he futilely struggled against Suika's unbreakable grasp even harder than before.

"This is for Asia!" Issei shouted as his empowered fist met Freed's face square in the cheek, flinging him backwards as Suika loosened her hold at the last moment.

"Aggghhhhhh!" Freed yelled in pain as he smashed against the wooden altar, completing shattering it. He coughed out blood from his bruised face as he turned to look at the approaching team that defeated him.

"Y-you shitty devils…! Fuck you!" He managed to squeak out before falling unconscious.

Issei gasped for a couple breaths of air as his hype began dying down and he grinned at the defeated exorcist.

"We did it!" He yelled out triumphantly. "We beat him!"

"How's it feel to win for once?" Marisa jokingly asked, walking up to him.

"It feels great! Thanks for letting me get that punch on him!" Issei said, gratefully thanking both of the females for allowing him to finish Freed. "But, what are we going to do with him? We can't just leave him here."

"Leave that to us, Issei-kun."

The team turned towards the entrance of the church to see two new people that had entered.

"Kiba! Koneko-chan!" Issei called out their names, looking relieved to see them. "What're you doing here?"

The blonde boy with the sword along with the shorter girl walked towards their position.

"Buchou sent us to help you, but it looks like you've been doing well." Kiba noted, looking at the unconscious exorcist as well as the damaged furniture in the church."

Issei sheepishly scratched his head. "Aha, not really. It's because I've got a couple people to help! You probably met them already, but here! Suika-san, Marisa-san, meet Kiba and Koneko-chan! Kiba, Koneko-chan, meet them!"

He gestured to each person respectively and Kiba bowed respectfully to them.

"I've seen you before yesterday Marisa-san. You have our thanks for helping Issei-kun. I've heard from Buchou about Suika-san, but I've never met you before. Pleased to meet you."

Koneko didn't say anything, instead choosing to nod to show to show her acknowledgement.

"Koneko doesn't really talk much." Kiba informed them.

Suika waved her hand in greeting. "Nice to meet'cha too. We were just about to head down those stairs underneath that altar."

She pointed to the destroyed wooden praying place that Freed had crashed into and underneath it, was a set of stairs leading deeper down the church.

Kiba nodded. "Buchou is hurrying to get permission to get rid of the fallen angels and rogue exorcists in the territory so there isn't any backlash. She'll be here as soon as she's finished. In the meantime…"

Koneko strolled over to Freed, picking him up and flipped him upside down causing several things to drop onto the floor. Guns and sword hilts clattered along the floor while Kiba gathered them up into a pile.

"He's sure got a lota' weapons. Not that he'll be needing 'em anymore." Suika remarked. "We gotta get downstairs though."

"Koneko can keep an eye on him and restrain him if he wakes up. I'll follow you down and assist you." Kiba added as the team collectively agreed.

Thus, they decided to tie Freed up in the meantime while everybody else entered the secret passage hidden underneath the altar. The passage eventually led them a massive room with stone walls, almost reminiscent of a European dungeon. The room was lit up with candles and there were several exorcists lined up against the wall, mostly relaxing. On the other end of the room however, was Raynare chaining up Asia onto a gigantic cross with Kalawarner assisting her.

"Asia!" Issei yelled out and gained the attention of everybody.

Exorcist, fallen angels, and most importantly, Asia.

"Issei-san! Y-You came for me!" She shouted from her chained position on the cross.

Kalawarner turned to the group, sneering at them until she spotted the oni amongst them. Then, the sneer quickly turned into abject fear.

"N-No! You!" She pointed at her worst nightmare who was practically beaming at her.

"Hey! How you doing?" She waved cheerfully. "You got away last time, but you won't escape this time. Nor will Raynare. I can promise you that."

"What happened to Mittelt!?" Raynare shrieked in horror. "She was supposed to hold you off! Freed too! I thought we'd have more time!"

Marisa gave a wry smirk. "She ran away. Smart move too, if ya' ask me. And Freed's takin' a nice nap up there."

"Give us back Asia!" Issei demanded, raising his draconic gauntlet again in preparation to fight.

"Never! I'll get her Sacred Gear no matter what!" Raynare spat at him. "There's no choice but to kill them all!"

Kalawarner twisted her head to face her leader with anxiety. "You can't be serious! We won't win against them! Don't you remember what she did to Dohnaseek!?"

"There's only four of them. There's no way she can be human if she's that powerful, and she's helping that idiotic boy. She has to be a devil which means she's weak to light weapons." Raynare tried to reason as she formed two light spears in her hands.

"Attack!" She commanded as the exorcists that were on the floor began drawing the same mass-produced light sword that Freed had used.

Thus, the brawl commenced and entered total chaos as the four members of the team descended into the mass of exorcists.

"Stay close to me Issei-kun! I'll handle their light weapons!" Kiba shouted as the blade he had in his hand began glowing black.

"Alright! I'm counting on you, you damn handsome!"

Though Issei was inexperienced, staying close to Kiba as well as the others gave him courage to fight against the overwhelming odds. Kiba's sword that clashed against any light sword that tried to cut down Issei promptly found the white blade flashing like a burnt out lightbulb before dissipating.

"What the hell!? What's with his weapon!?"

Issei took the chance to punch those that were left vulnerable.

While it was true that the exorcists could surround the group, they couldn't all go in at the same time as they'd risk accidentally attacking each other.

In another area of the room, Marisa was leaping backwards while bombarding them with both explosive and blunt colored stars from the rainbow. Those that got too close and assumed that she was weak at close-range found themselves in for a nasty surprise as while she had no formal training, she was very aware of her surroundings. Either they were blocked by the blue magical barrier that knocked them back before taking the brunt of an explosive star, or they were outmaneuvered with leaps, flips in the air, and backward jumps that confounded them with her unusual movements. They couldn't land any hits on her as she swiftly avoided the sword swings of the mob all the while keeping them from getting behind her. Then they were beaten back with a barrage of more stars that had the force of a truck slamming into them.

"Here! Have this!" Marisa shouted, reaching into her pouch to toss a massive round beaker with a blue liquid in it.

" **Magic Sign [Deep Ecological Bomb]!"**

Despite the declaration of the supposed Spell Card, with no rules in effect, it had turned into a lethal explosive that blew any opponent away from the blast radius. Several immediately suffered terrible burn wounds if they were close enough while being forcefully shunted away from the explosive, either slamming into the wall before being knocked out or hitting other allies.

" **Star Sign [Meteonic Shower]!"**

Yet another Spell Card was called out with no rules to inhibit it. Marisa leapt back to gain some distance from her numerous attackers. She raised her arms and immediately unleashed a massive salvo of giant blunt stars into the group, repelling them away and breaking bones.

"Too easy, heh!"

While Marisa was showering them with magic of various degrees, Suika was devastating them with her physical prowess.

Nothing could damage her at all. While Suika dodged most of the swords instinctively, some exorcists had managed to score some hits on her. However, it did absolutely nothing but ensure that their blade broke upon trying to slash her from a good angle. Then, that attacker's bones were promptly shattered as Suika entered their guard and punched them away. She was surrounded from all sides though that didn't matter to her at all. Morale was quickly plummeting as the disguised oni remained virtually undamaged while her enemies were all moaning in pain if they weren't knocked out. It certainly wasn't as flashy as Marisa's magic was turning out to be, but her physical capabilities made it a death wish to enter her melee range. Many had already given up and simply ran away from her.

"T-This can't be!" Raynare was promptly panicking as her army of exorcists were steadily dropping like flies.

"We need to do something!" Kalawarner cried out loudly, practically pleading with her leader. "We can't win against them!"

Raynare scowled in response, looking back at Asia with a hungry look before turning back to the battleground.

It was a lost cause.

The boy Raynare had killed a few days ago was holding his own well with Kiba protecting him from the repercussions of a light weapon. The magician Kalawarner had told her about hadn't taken a scratch yet and her magic was so much more powerful than almost everybody Raynare knew. She already seen for herself the overwhelming power that the little girl had, practically killing her comrade Dohnaseek in one uppercut. She as well was still slightly crippled from the single attack she suffered.

The chances of an escape being possible seemed nonexistent. Raynare recalled that same girl having a chain that would immobilize her and while the room was large, the chain was long enough to pull her down if she tried to fly over them. The most she could do was probably kill both of the boys before getting killed herself.

There was only one thing left to do for her.

"Stop! Stop! Exorcists, stop fighting!" She barked out as many of the addressed turned to her in confusion. "Drop your weapons! We're surrendering!"

Though they were reluctant too, upon seeing the numerous downed bodies of their allies, they proceeded to do just that.

"W-what?" Issei looked at her in shock as the fighting died down rapidly. "What's going on?"

"They're surrendering." Kiba answered for him. "We've won."

Marisa gave an exasperated look at the exorcists, then at the fallen angels who deactivated their spears. "Seriously? I didn't think they would, but I guess they did."

Suika grinned, taking in the scared looks that the exorcists gave her. "Well, it was startin' to get boring. Better than having to keep going 'till the end. Group up guys!"

The victorious team moved towards each other easily as the defeated enemies stood to the side to allow them through, no longer wanting to fight.

"So? What's the reason yer' givin' up?" The oni asked, staring at the leader with some doubt. She didn't want to let her guard down yet.

"Tch, we won't win and you already know that. But enough talk. You want Asia back?" Raynare grudgingly asked as the mixed group walked up the stairs leading to the enormous cross Asia was attached to. "You can have her."

Issei practically brightened at hearing those words.

"As long as you let us go."

And his happy expression instantaneously vanished, taking on a more wary one.

Kiba had the same idea, hand placed on his sword. "And we should accept this? I heard you kidnapped her and now you just want to return her?"

Kalawarner decided to speak up before Raynare said something she regretted.

"This isn't worth our lives. Those two…" She pointed at Marisa and Suika. "Are too powerful for us to handle. And we didn't even get to start the ritual yet or this might have been a different story. We won't win or live, no matter what we try. The only choice we have is to give up."

"And what's stoppin' us from just thoroughly trashing you guys?" Marisa questioned, a frown on her lips as suspicion entered her voice.

Raynare formed a light spear and pointed it at Asia while the group tensed at the action.

"You're here for Asia, aren't you? We'll kill her then." Raynare declared as her light spear edged closer to the scared girl. "We'll kill her, then you'll kill us."

"I-Issei-san!" Asia squeaked out in a scared tone, tears starting to form at her eyes.

"Asia!" Issei cried her name in fear, arms raised at her hesitantly.

Kalawarner formed a light spear and pointed it at him. "Stop right there! You'll know what we'll do if you do."

Issei stopped immediately and reluctantly backed off, stepping farther away from Asia as she looked at him with hope.

"The choice is simple. Let us go, and we'll give Asia back to you. Then we'll leave. You won't see us again, hopefully." Raynare impatiently stated, though her pale face and sweat indicated the clear nervousness she had.

Issei glared at her with absolute hatred.

"Y-you killed me before! I absolutely hate you!" His hands clenched into fists tightly. "You took Asia away and you would have killed me again if Suika-san hadn't showed up! Then you would've killed Asia! Whenever I look at you, I just want to kill you!"

He looked at Suika with quick gratitude before facing his murderer.

"But…" He looked at Asia softly. "This isn't even a choice. I care for my friends more than I want to get revenge."

"So then…?" Kalawarner inquired with hope in her eyes.

"We'll… let you go." Issei finally answered.

Raynare nodded and slashed the chains that held his friend up. She collapsed onto the ground onto a heap and Kalawarner and Raynare made way as Issei ran up to Asia.

"Issei-san! Y-you came for me!" Asia hugged him, sobbing onto his shoulders. "I'm so happy!"

"It's okay Asia. You're safe now." He murmured to her as he hugged her back, tears beginning to exit his eyes.

Kiba sighed at the end result. "I'll inform Koneko that we're allowing them to leave then. I'll be right back."

He proceeded to the exit leading upstairs to the church before looking upwards at the entrance.

"B-Buchou!" The swordsman announced as Rias walked down the stairs with Akeno trailing behind her.

"Kiba? What's going on? Is everybody okay?" She questioned worriedly, finishing her descent before gazing on the two fallen angels along with Issei and Asia hugging each other.

"It's a long story, buchou."

xXx

"Do you understand Issei? What you did was extremely dangerous. If Marisa-san or Suika-san weren't there, you would have been in much greater danger." Rias lectured her pawn as he drooped down at the floor of the Occult Research Clubroom in shame.

However, his next words had him raise his head to face Rias with firm resolution in his eyes.

"I know. But I couldn't leave Asia behind!" Issei refuted. "Friends help friends!"

Rias sighed with what she felt was justified frustration.

She had learned that Issei had made a deal with the fallen angel. The same fallen angel that had killed him. Along with making a deal to release his friend Asia, a _nun_ who was a natural enemy for devils in exchange for allowing them to leave Kuoh in peace. Granted, Asia didn't particularly care that Issei was a devil. Nor did she care about the rest of the peerage being devils for that matter which was great boon to her.

Before that though, she had to place an emergency call to the higher ups for quick permission to exterminate the rogue elements that had entered her territory.

She would certainly look stupid when she told them that they had been allowed to leave in peace, but that was second nature in comparison to Issei's safety.

Once again, she owed the Inaba Clinic another debt of gratitude. She swore that those debts would definitely pile up someday, if not already. First, they had saved Issei before she and Sona had made negotiations with them. Then, they had helped to heal Issei after he ran into the rogue exorcist Freed Sellzen who had inflicted wounds on him with light weapons. Those wounds weren't easy to heal for herself or Akeno either and she had turned to them for assistance. They had not failed either.

Finally, the Inaba Clinic had helped protect Issei, yet again on his endeavor to save his friend. She had to admire his loyalty to his friends. That was why she had wanted him in her peerage. His Sacred Gear had been second nature at the time, although she was pleasantly surprised when he had required eight pieces to reincarnate as a devil.

The duo had already left the clubhouse to return to the clinic, but not before speaking to Issei. She managed to catch some of the last few lines they said.

" _Yer' a pretty good kid Issei. Not everybody can let go of their revenge for their friend." Suika complimented, jabbing him in the shoulder as he scratched his head sheepishly._

" _It's a good trait to have. We gotta get goin', but come see us whenever ya' wanna visit us." Marisa told him before the duo bid farewell to him._

She had finished multiple meetings with one of them including the now 'pardoned' fallen angels, though she had wanted to just annihilate them for even daring to kill Issei. They had left very quickly, eyeing Marisa and Suika with apprehension all the while leaving Kuoh walking. After that, she had a talk with the duo to discuss what had happened at the church. Finally, she spoke to her own peerage though it was mostly Kiba doing most of the talking as he had seen the most since Koneko was relegated to guard duty on Freed. She questioned him rather than Issei as she thought that he had been through quite the ordeal already.

Yuuto Kiba had described in good detail the strength of the duo that had assisted Issei during his reckless decision to save Asia.

The first was Marisa. If the first confrontation she had with Marisa gave her a glimpse of just how potentially powerful she was, then the next few had practically solidified it. Perhaps even surpassing what she initially thought. There was that mini-Hakkero tool she had that Sona theorized could destroy a mountain easily. However, Kiba had told her that Marisa had not used it during the fights. He didn't know why she didn't use it, but she hadn't needed it at all. Marisa came out of the fights unscathed and not exhausted at all. Her magic utterly decimated all of her attackers too, ranging from explosive stars to ones that hit you with the force of a speeding bullet train. He couldn't get much more than that as he was more focused on protecting Issei at the time although the magic alone was plenty. It was lucky that Marisa had very telling and flashy magic with her varying bright colors.

The next was Suika. If Marisa was the magical powerhouse, then Suika was the physical one. From what Kiba had explained, the physical strength she possessed was _far_ superior than even Koneko who she thought wielded considerable strength already. It was to the point that the light swords did absolutely no damage to her. Exorcists were knocked out within a single hit whether from her leg or fist. It would certainly explain why the surviving fallen angels had stayed far away from her.

Both were extraordinary, but they confounded her as well. The former, she knew was human. Suika, she didn't think was. Koneko had noted it as much from the short interaction she had after they had recently defeated Freed.

Reisen, that doctor was the same. Both Suika and Reisen always had spells on them though she didn't know what it exactly was. Both of them weren't human while Marisa was.

Who could they possibly be?

"Buchou?" Issei snapped her out of her thoughts. "Are you alright?"

"Ahh, yes. I'm fine." Rias quickly waved off his concern. "I'm just glad you're okay Issei. You scared me very much when Reisen-san called me to tell me you ran off with Marisa-san and Suika-san."

"Sorry…" Issei apologized wholeheartedly for worrying her. "But they're really strong! I think they're even better than us!"

As much as she didn't want to admit it, they certainly were. For the meantime though, she'd be thankful for their efforts.

"I heard Asia doesn't have anywhere to go." Rias brought up, peaking Issei's interest. "I have an idea on what to do."

"Y-you do? Really?"

She nodded, smiling at him sincerely.

"I do."

* * *

 **A/N: My longest chapter yet. Still self-beta'ed so expect mistakes. This particular chapter made me feel pretty proud of myself to write and I hope that it shows here. This concludes the first "Canon" Arc. I'm gonna be busy pretty soon, so expect much slower updates for the meantime. Next chapter, Patchouli will finally get an appearance along with an enemy that only the light novel readers will know since he hasn't appeared in the anime yet. Nothing else much to say other than I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed typing it up! Writing stuff that I enjoy is why I keep writing (Along with getting better I would hope to create even better stuff).**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: State of the Kyoto and Kuoh**

The night was quiet, Patchouli noted while roaming around the outsides streets of Inner Kyoto. It was just as how she preferred it to be though, as she looked around to see all the shops and houses closed. She currently spent the majority of her time at the Kyoto Shrine in order to work with Alice and Yasaka on finding a way to remove the magical leylines in her. However, Alice had suggested that she actually go outside for a change as even though Magician Youkai were generally frail, she herself was the epitome of it. She had even gone on to note that of all the magicians in Gensokyo, Patchouli was physically the weakest and it was even worse than some humans for that matter.

Then as if it was even more of a sign, her asthma had been nearly nonexistent throughout the day thus furthering Alice's suggestions to get some fresh air and sunlight.

Patchouli let out an indignant huff. Alice even had the gall to tell her that Marisa was a little worried about her after she had returned from the gathering at the Inaba Clinic. Still, it was nice to hear their concern from both of them. Perhaps it was for the best to have one day out considering she remained in the shrine for a solid month. Maybe she would even attend another gathering for them the next time around. She had done research the entire day at the time and she hadn't felt very well which left her exhausted.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a silver colored mist roaming around.

Patchouli raised a confused eyebrow.

"Suika?"

Was it her? That didn't seem very likely though. If it were an emergency message of some sort, the best person to send would have been Marisa. She was the fastest amongst the Gensokyo Team excluding Aya. Suika wouldn't have any reason to hide herself as a mist either.

Her danger senses rose immediately as all of a sudden, the mist started darting towards her at a fairly fast speed.

Thinking quickly, Patchouli spread her arms and unleashed several moderately sized fireballs towards the mist. The mist didn't deviate off its course, choosing to continue on its path towards Patchouli right into the fireballs.

"Hmm?"

She had expected the fireballs to go through the mist. Instead, it had dissipated and splashed off of it as if it hit an invisible barrier.

Was it a physical entity then? It was nothing like Suika's mist where anything that attacked it would have simply gone through.

She needed some time to think and she knew how to defend herself from something that was air-like.

"An omnidirectional protection spell it is then." Patchouli muttered to herself.

Patchouli took the deepest breath she could hold and formed steel walls around her. She then enclosed herself like a box, leaving absolutely no gaps for the mist to enter through. That also meant however that no air could get through which gave her limited time to keep herself safe. However, from how the mist was unable to get through as she expected, it meant that this was indeed, some sort of air attack that was being remotely controlled by someone somewhere. Very clever, and even skillful for whoever this was. That meant that this was a skilled magician of some sort and she had no idea where they were.

Deciding enough was enough, she released her breath and blew away the steel walls. Not even a short second afterwards, she created a dome of air immediately as the walls were blasted outwards. As soon as the steel vanished from sight, she sent the dome of air encircling her expanding out in every single direction and angle conceivable. The mist could not resist its effects as it was pushed back away from her some twenty five feet away.

If she couldn't destroy it, then she'd trap it.

She pulled out her grimoire from her pink robe and opened it, causing her to glow blue with magical power as she raised one of her arms and shot an enormous bubble. The bubble sped towards the mist and was sucked into it and encased it. The mist tried to bounce against its prison, but it was futile as it was much sturdier than it appeared. An air attack that took the form of a mist that didn't have a blade powerful or sharp enough to burst through a magically enhanced bubble barrier held little chance of breaking free. If the magician was channeling the mist and actively controlling it, then they would either have to release it now that it was caught or reveal themselves if they wanted something from her.

She spread her senses around for any magical signatures that would be powerful enough to handle something like this. To her surprise however, there was no one around. In fact, the signature appeared to be coming from the mist itself. Questions began rising in her mind on how that was possible until all of a sudden, a bladed spear emerged from the mist, stabbing her bubble and bursting it.

"What…?" She whispered with surprise as the mist that was now free of her bubble expanded in size.

Then, two people emerged from it, leaping out of it gracefully and landed on their feet standing just where the wet remains of her bubble was splashed on the ground.

Patchouli immediately took note of their features, marking them as enemies immediately. They weren't anybody she knew and from how they had acted so far, she believed it was a justified decision to make. Her mind went into overdrive, analyzing everything at several miles a minute.

First, there was the man with the spear. He was a young man, aged around in his twenties if she were to judge properly. His short black hair cascaded down his face and he wore a gakuran worn by Japanese schoolboys. Around his waist was ancient Chinese attire with a belt attached to prevent it from falling. Judging how the bladed spear laid on his shoulder casually, this man thought himself powerful. One look at his spear and the power oozing out of it certainly cemented this fact. That spear was _not_ an ordinary spear by any means, even with how innocuous it looked. She had no doubt that it possessed abilities that she didn't know about and that made it even more dangerous to fight. She already knew that she was not well-suited for remaining in battle for long periods of time and even less so during fights that had her forced into melee range.

His companion wore spectacles and had black hair that spiked in several directions. The same gakuran that was on the spearman was the same one as his companion's. Over the gakuran though was a mage-styled robe garbed protectively over his figure, giving him a rather scholarly young look of a budding magician. The magical signature that Patchouli was sensing was coming from him for sure. A human magician, similar to the likes of Marisa. She absentmindedly noted that Marisa was probably far better than him though.

The mist that had contained them had disappeared and Patchouli's mind began clicking the pieces into place.

"I see. I understand now."

That mist was not an attack at all. It was actually a container of some sort that could house people inside of it until it was the right time to attack. If it could house people in it, then that meant it could also be used as a means to capture someone with little hope of them escaping. There was no other reason for the mist to rush for her otherwise without attempting to attack her.

They wanted her for some reason. And they were good enough that they managed to sneak into Inner Kyoto through several barrier and alert spells that informed them of intruders.

Suddenly, the danger level on these men rose immensely and Patchouli began fearing that victory against them would either cost her dearly, or was not very likely at all. Especially if these men decided to double team her.

"I must admit." The bespectacled man began, pushing his glasses up his nose very confidently. "You're a very skilled user of magic. Much more than a simple researcher. There aren't many people who could have thought of ways to deflect mist in the first place and even less who could successfully do it in an efficient and quick manner."

His eyes gazed at her with suspicion.

"Just who are you? Those four spells you've casted alone shows that you have a good aptitude for elemental magic. I suspect that isn't even the end of it."

Patchouli didn't give an answer and the spearman exited his casual pose to point his weapon towards her.

"Answer our question. Someone of your caliber would have been known very quickly to us. Where have you come from? Magic users with knowledge on how to deflect Dimension Lost within seconds is almost impossible."

She ignored them again, deigning to question them instead.

"And who are you, intruder? It's impolite to attack your hosts, even though you've entered Inner Kyoto without permission. You even seem to know of me if you know that I'm researching."

The interrogation failed as they didn't give an answer either.

Seeing as no information could be gathered from them, Patchouli raised her arm into the air. The spearman immediately tensed, as did the magician though they gave no sudden movements yet.

In the palm of her hand aimed upwards, a white sphere shining brightly began forming. It then shot into the air like a flare and gave two bursts of light before fading.

Patchouli didn't want to risk losing. Though it stung her pride a bit that she wouldn't be able to handle these two on her own for long, it would be more pragmatic to call for assistance.

"That was a signal for help. You won't last long enough."

The spear wielder realized it as well and he charged at her at high speeds. Quick, but not enough to catch her off guard or that she couldn't retaliate with a spell.

Patchouli immediately countered by conjuring Flash of Spring, a wood-elemental magical spell combined with air that created several extremely pressurized shots of wind. The blunt force it could cause could almost be compared to Marisa's current power in her non-explosive stars. However, the spear user cut them aside as if they were nothing more than paper getting in his way.

Not powerful enough then.

The Magician Youkai leapt backwards to give herself space for another spell.

This time, it was a single element spell. Autumn Blade, a metal elemental spell that sent several giant circular saw blades towards the enemy. These ones could slice apart even the natural defenses of an average youkai. Once again, the spear user didn't slow in the least as he slashed each one of them in half and made even more progress towards reaching her.

Not good enough either.

Weaker projectiles weren't working at all, Patchouli realized. The spearman would probably cut through the next one just as easily. She needed something more powerful. Something to defend her at the same time though as another failed spell would render her vulnerable if it didn't succeed in stopping him. A simple magical circle barrier, similar to what most of the residents of Gensokyo used wouldn't be sufficient enough.

Her grimoire glowed with power as her mind quickly ran through the repertoire of spells she could use until it decided upon one.

 **"Water Sign [Jellyfish Princess]!"**

Patchouli declared her Spell Card, completely uninhibited by the Spell Card Rules of Gensokyo. A giant clear bubble colored blue formed, engulfing her within though there was no lack of air to worry about. This was one of her most reliable ways of defense in the case an enemy got too close for her to handle and it had been one of her oldest spells now.

The spearman brought his blade down and from his smirking expression, he fully expected to be able to sever the bubble just as easily as he had her previous one along with her projectiles.

"What the!?"

Patchouli took pride and causing the frown on his face as the spear failed to pierce her defense successfully. He was open and she planned to take full advantage of that fact.

 **"Earth Metal Sign [Emerald Megalopolis]!"**

She called out, her open grimoire and herself glowing green as emerald spiked pillars rose from the ground right in front of her to pierce the opponent's flesh. His gakuran being slightly slashed open caused Patchouli to think that she had finally wounded the spearman. However, he managed to leap away just in time, preventing any further damage to himself. Several more emerald pillars followed him and he continued jumping backwards until he was out of range of her attack. In the end, he wasn't even bleeding.

The librarian didn't like that. That was one of her more powerful spells. The fact that he got away from her at striking distance was not a good sign for her.

His reflexes were very good.

The man spun his spear elegantly and planted it onto the ground with the blunt side, giving her a small reprieve.

"I'm impressed. You're a very skilled magician." He complimented her, smirking once again. "I thought you'd be easy to beat but just from these few seconds, I know I underestimated you."

Patchouli scoffed. "Yes you did. You assumed that as a Magician, closing the distance would leave me entirely vulnerable. Surely you're smart enough to know that any skilled magician would have countermeasures against that."

Instead of becoming insulted, he laughed. "You're right. Since you've managed to last this long, it'd be an insult for you to not know our names."

"In that case, I'm Georg." The scholar introduced himself first. "I have to agree as well, though it also gives even more suspicion. Someone of your skill should have been noticed by any of the factions and associations, major or minor. Even if the Youkai Faction hid you all this time, your magic doesn't show any signs of their teachings nor does it answer how you're not known by anybody. You look human as well, but I don't feel as if you are."

"I'm Patchouli Knowledge." She answered back. "And I'm a Magician Youkai."

Georg cocked an interested eyebrow. "Really now… I suppose that it wouldn't be a stretch to assume you've never seen beyond Inner Kyoto. If you've been here practicing your magic for years, it'd make sense on why you're extremely skilled with elemental magic."

"I'm Cao Cao. And it's been a while since I've had a good fight." Cao Cao named himself, entering a fighting stance. "Stand back Georg. I'll handle this."

That assuaged some of Patchouli's worries. If Cao Cao's magician partner didn't join him, then she could probably hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

"You might want to make it quick Cao Cao. We can't be here long. She called for backup with that flare earlier." Georg reminded him.

"That's fine. I'll try harder this time. Now, are you ready?" He answered, smirking at Patchouli once again as she prepared herself for another onslaught.

He took her silence as acceptance and he rushed in again with similar speed as before.

Her mind ran through her thoughts like a train on tracks.

Her earlier Jellyfish Princess was still in effect, rendering her safe for now. If she was going to hold out against Cao Cao and his devastating spear though, she was going to need more firepower. If single standard projectile spells weren't going to work, then she was going to make stronger ones.

Much stronger ones.

 **"Earth Water Sign [Noachian Deluge]!"**

Her arm extended towards the approaching Cao Cao and a massive torrent of compressed small water shots, infused with earth blasted out of her hands at high speeds towards Cao Cao. They didn't look as fearsome as her earlier bullets, but this one was deceptive in that these were hyper condensed bullets. Each one could cause craters in solid stone walls and outright pierce through its properties if enough power was put into it. If a human were to take its brunt and weren't strong enough, their bones would be destroyed if the bullets didn't outright pierce through their body.

"Watch out Cao Cao! Don't underestimate that spell!" Georg warned as he glowered at the magician.

Cao Cao took his advice, slowing down to slash at the bullets again. His eyes widened in surprise as he was met with much more difficulty as the first one that he struck with his spear actually pushed him backwards despite him giving an accurate and solid cut into the first water bullet with earth infused in it. He immediately recognized the danger of it and began dodging it instead of slicing it aside as he had done so before.

He shifted left. He moved right. He ducked. He leapt backwards. He dodged each one skillfully.

Her barrage wasn't over though. This was just to stall him. This wasn't her main attack. This was just a distraction for this.

 **"Fire Metal Sign [St. Elmo's Pillar]!"**

A magic circle formed behind Cao Cao on the ground as he was busy evading the Noachian Deluge from earlier. Just as Patchouli predicted, he jumped back into the massive circle which began lighting up red.

"Shi-!"

And just like that, the ground exploded with enormous force. The circle glowed and a white fiery pillar, outlined in red erupted underneath it. It absolutely consumed Cao Cao. The temperature was so high that Patchouli could feel it, even from where she was standing. It was simply a superheated column of magic. The Noachian Deluge bullets even dispersed into steam right upon contact with it.

Patchouli let out a sigh of relief. She was beginning to feel tired. It had been a while since she had fought.

Letting her guard down had been her mistake, she found incredibly quickly.

As her Spell Card finished, Cao Cao was nowhere to be seen. She assumed that he had been incinerated in her attack, but one look at Georg showed that he was smirking.

Immediately, she began looking around for her opponent. This was not good. She had lost sight of someone who specialized in physical attacks and that meant he could strike anywhere.

Suddenly, her Jellyfish Princess popped and Cao Cao reappeared in front of her.

"Grrk!"

Abrupt pain entered her abdomen and her hand instinctively moved to the wounded area. She was pushed back several feet away from the now visible Cao Cao who had struck her with the blunt side of his spear. She barely glimpsed at him to see that his clothes were most certainly burnt off at parts and his skin even took first and second degree burns in areas, but he was very much still alive.

He dashed at her again, planning to give her absolutely no reprieve.

Not good!

Patchouli's eyes widened in urgent panic as she instinctively called up a spell to defend herself.

 **"Moon Sign [Silent Serene]!"**

A blue magical circle formed underneath her and white beams outlined in blue, shot up into the sky like arrows of light. Condensed moonlight, increasing more powerful during the nighttime protected her as Cao Cao ran straight into it to press his advantage.

His arm was instantly singed. At the feeling of first injury, he jumped back as he almost felt another one of the beams pierce his skin and bone to wait for the attack to end.

With the moon spell's job of protecting its user over, it dissipated as Patchouli stopped fueling it. Patchouli began panting in fatigue, rubbing her wounded abdomen from Cao Cao's strike.

"Incredible… Your reaction speed… Your spells. All top class. Any one of those attacks would have killed me had Georg not protected or warned me at the last second even though I didn't want him to. Even then, I still underestimated your skill. I should have revealed my Balance Breaker much earlier and that might not have been enough either with your expertise. It's almost a shame that you're a Youkai. Had you been human, I would have tried to ask you to join me right away. I have no doubt that you're one of the strongest Magicians I've ever seen." He complimented highly, grinning all the while at the tired Patchouli. "But your weakness is clear. For all your mastery over your magic, your physical ability is left wanting. Your consecutive high-level spells have left you weakened and unfortunately, we can't let you finish your research on Yasaka. "

He turned to Georg.

"Capture her."

Georg nodded as he began forming the opaque white mist in front of him and Patchouli stood back up to try and resist.

She knew it was futile. Her body was aching in pain already and the Cao Cao would stop her if she tried to fight back any more. He was correct in that she was too tired to continue any further. Her short breaths were already symptoms of her asthma emerging again which left her even weaker.

The mist completed forming and Georg directed it with his arms towards Patchouli.

This was it for her. She wouldn't be able to dodge it in time.

"Clear!"

All of a sudden, an immense gust of wind blew away the mist that was headed towards her. Aya landed in front of her as she faced the two opponents. In her hand was the hauchiwa leaf fan, her conductor for her unrivaled powers over wind.

"Don't move. You're surrounded." Alice warned as she walked up from behind them, fingers twitching as dolls reacted accordingly with their weapons pointed.

As if Aya was not enough, Cao Cao and Georg were immediately surrounded by floating dolls, various blades from lances, spears, and swords at the ready, aimed towards vital parts of the human body.

"Hmph." Cao Cao scoffed. "These things won't do anything. Georg, we're leaving. We'll have to come back another time."

As soon as he finished talking, he moved like lightning, slashing apart all the dolls that were in his immediate range. Alice's arms and fingers danced to maneuver properly, more dolls emerging to replace the lost ones but it was too late. The mist that Georg had formed earlier spread to engulf both him and Cao Cao and they disappeared into it. The mist then flew away, almost taunting them as if they failed and would come back sooner or later.

"Patchouli! You okay?" Aya turned around in concern for her comrade.

Patchouli coughed a few times before standing back up weakly. "I'll be fine. Thank you for coming to my assistance. They were much stronger than they appeared to be."

Alice agreed, nodding her head as she recalled her dolls. "No doubt they were. There aren't too many people who can get out of a situation like that surrounded."

She looked around at the obvious devastation in the streets. Signs of the battle was obvious as the charred ground laid black and several parts of it also had wet patches.

"I know you aren't suited for physical combat, but was he strong enough that he could leave you like this? On a good day?" Alice questioned while approaching Patchouli.

"Yes." Patchouli answered bluntly and gravely. "At the same time however, the spearman Cao Cao caught me off guard at one point. I thought I had finished him off with a chain of two spells mixed together, but he managed to survive and land a blow on me. Had that not been the case, I wouldn't be this drained."

She fumbled for a bit before Alice and Aya caught her.

"Need a hand?" Aya offered and Pachouli grudgingly accepted.

"Did you figure out what they wanted from you?" Alice inquired as they began helping the exhausted Patchouli back to the Kyoto Shrine where they were staying.

"A little, as well as details about them." The Librarian answered. "They were here to capture me and stop me from completing the research on Yasaka. I suspect that they know that we plan on removing the magical leylines on Yasaka. I don't know enough on why they want that unfortunately."

The rumbling sound of footsteps echoed as several youkai guards came scrambling onto the streets and one wolf youkai guard approached them.

"It's gonna be a long night. That's for sure." Aya commented to the Gensokyo group privately as Inner Kyoto awakened to the news of it being infiltrated.

xXx

"This is unacceptable." One of the Youkai elders stated in the council room. "How could we have been infiltrated so easily? A shameful display for all of us."

No one could deny that. No one could even blame the Gensokyo Team for that matter. The Youkai Faction of Kyoto were the ones handling security of Kyoto itself for the most matter. The Inaba Clinic Team in Kuoh was only a Scouting Team, though they could fight extremely well if what Alice had said was true. Nearly all of the other elders shared his feelings. Disgust, shame, and failure.

Yasaka had called for an emergency council considering the events that had occurred only an hour ago. The Gensokyo Team and the Wolf Youkai had reported what had happened and nobody had liked what they had heard. Two enemies, suspected humans, had entered Inner Kyoto in the dead of night with nonethewiser until Patchouli had been attacked. Not only that, but they had known about the research being done on her to remove the Kyoto Magical Leylines from her. That raised serious questions.

How did they manage to get in? And how long had they been doing it now? And did they know about their hidden plans?

The implications were not good, to say the least.

"Worst of all, one of our envoys from Gensokyo was attacked. The main researcher in fact. We can assume then that these humans know about the plan and that it has been leaked somewhere." The Monkey Youkai Elder stated gravely.

The Wolf Youkai Elder promptly responded to him. "Our fellow Crow Tengu scouts and the Gensokyo Team in Kuoh have reported to us that none of the major factions know of our plans. Margatroid-dono has also reported to us that the Gensokyo Team may try to ally with the Gremory Clan, one of the 72 pillars clans of the Devils. While I disapprove of possibly telling them our reasons in the name of trust in the future, they may be valuable should we be attacked in the future considering the circumstances. This intrusion may have just been a rogue pair from one of the factions as they are all in a ceasefire for the moment."

The ceasefire between the three factions was something that each and every supernatural being in the world generally knew. If they didn't, they were quickly taught about it and the youkai were no exception. Many were scared of breaking that tentative ceasefire as one error could cause an entire fallout and war with them wiping each other out. This mainly involved the three major factions between the Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils but the Youkai Faction could be dragged in as well. While Kyoto wouldn't be involved directly, being in the crossfire near Devil territory was not an attractive prospect to be.

"How recent are those reports?" Yasaka requested.

"We received them three days ago, Yasaka-sama." He answered respectfully. "There has been no buildup in terms of military purposes. They have been attempting to reconstruct and repopulate what they have lost from the Great War several centuries back and there are no signs of attack thus far. The Wolf Tengu are prepared for the worst case scenario however."

Worst scenario being if they were actually invaded or war broke out regardless. The Wolf Tengu would lay their lives down for the survival of the Youkai Faction.

Yasaka nodded in approval. "Excellent work. Continue as usual on that front."

"Yes, Yasaka-sama."

"For now, I would also suggest for the scouts to see if they can find any more information on those two attackers. We have names as well. Cao Cao and Georg." Yasaka continued. "There's nothing more we can do except tighten the security once again."

That was the end of the matter. If she allowed the negative atmosphere to remain, no doubt it would cause more tumultuous actions from the council. She needed to take the reins before it began spiraling out of control. Now would be a good time to discuss more positive ones, boosting the morale of the council, Yasaka hoped.

"Let's move on to another topic. Specifically, the movement to Gensokyo."

She glanced towards the Kappa Youkai Elder and he nodded in affirmation, holding up a sheet of paper.

"As of currently, approximately ten percent of our total youkai population, non-combatants and civilians have successfully moved to Gensokyo with personal supervision of Yukari Yakumo. Logistics and living area have been handled by Ran Yakumo, Yukari Yakumo's Shikigami, the Kappa over in Gensokyo and us, the Kappa of Kyoto. As of currently, there is more than enough room for all of us in Gensokyo and more. No complications have arose."

He bowed his head in deference to the Kyuubi leader and representative.

"Thank you." She gracefully accepted his report. "Finally, the concerns on the Kyoto Magical Leylines. As Patchouli-san has been attacked and is currently resting, Alice-san will be informing us of the current progress on that matter instead."

Alice, who was standing in the back of the room, left her spot to stand a little closer to the Youkai Council.

"Research on severing the Kyoto Magical Leylines is progressing well. We have a theory that transferring all the power of the leylines somewhere else can be a possible method. We initially thought the land of Kyoto itself would be ideal, but it would turn into a magically rich land which would undoubtedly attract the attention everybody increasingly over time." Alice began, attention to her given in full by everybody in the room. "For now, we have no set place yet and the conversion method is set. We believe that moving it into an area somewhere where it cannot be accessed to anyone, or where it would disappear in time would be best. There is a downside however."

"What would that be?" The Nekomata Elder asked.

"Due to the latent power of the leylines, this method will take a good amount of time to finish. It is the safest method yet, but also the slowest. Yasaka-sama unfortunately, will be forced to stay in Kyoto and will be able to move around freely as time progresses along the transferring." She answered honestly and a slight murmur came over the room as they discussed their findings.

After a while, the nekomata turned her head to her.

"How much time do you estimate it would take to complete the process after a location is found?"

Alice shook her head. "Unfortunately, we currently do not have a set time. The amount of magical power in the leylines is enormous and would take a long time. It should not take longer than a year."

"That's a pitiful amount in comparison to how long she's lived as well as how long she's been attached to them." The Nekomata elder responded as approval entered her tone. "Gensokyo truly does have talented individuals in it. I must admit, Yukari Yakumo chose her team representatives well."

Alice bowed respectfully. "Thank you."

"We began distrustful of you due to your relation towards Gensokyo and Yukari Yakumo, as well as our grievances and dark thoughts on our continued survival. But, it appears Yukari Yakumo has had the upper hand the entire time." The Monkey Elder noted. "Indeed, her intellectual prowess and foresight cannot be overestimated. Only the opposite."

Yasaka smiled openly at the beginning approvals of the entire council.

"We may have been intruded upon by enemies. However, current events show that we cannot lose heart. They are turning in our favor for once. We cannot allow one error to poison our entire path. I have no doubt that if we continue as we have done so far, our survival will be in sight at the end of this long and arduous journey."

A nostalgic thought passed by her as the council looked at her curiously.

"It has been a long time. Kyoto, both Inner and the Outer modern city has changed and I have been there for almost all of them. I am sad over the fact, like many of you, that we must leave our home in the interest that we may continue to live on. But just as times change, the people must change with it as well. That is how progress and development happen. Both to a person, and to society."

She stood up from her seat regally, her nine golden tails flowing behind her elegantly in all its radiance.

"This council is dismissed. In a good note I might add."

xXx

Any signs of battle that had happened last night between Patchouli and Cao Cao and Georg had been completely erased. There were absolutely no marks remaining as Patchouli and Alice walked down the streets of Inner Kyoto with slow purpose in their steps. Now that they paid more attention to their surroundings, it looked very similar to the Human Village in Gensokyo. A tavern stood on one corner of the street while Edo-style era buildings were abundant everywhere Alice and Patchouli walked. The sun was out as youkai of all species, young and old, roamed around freely. It didn't seem likely that Cao Cao and Georg would attack them in broad daylight with so many witnesses around.

A new rule also been made for the Gensokyo Team. None of them would head out alone for fear of being targeted. They now had to leave with another member of the team. Alice had decided on this after the attack on Patchouli. Aya had complained at first, but agreed in the end.

Thus, this was now why Alice and Patchouli were together walking around Inner Kyoto.

"So… are you gonna do it?"

"Do what?"

"You know… Move to Gensokyo."

"I-I don't know. It's such a big decision."

"Well I'm going to. I'm not going to stay here and die like a mutt."

"What!? That… seems so sudden. But I admit, Kokoho-chan has been feeling weaker and weaker…"

Alice looked away from the pair she had been eavesdropping on.

"The opinions look mixed on the general populace." Alice commented to Patchouli who didn't even bat an eyelash.

"So it seems. Most of them are indecisive on the matter. It's to be expected." Patchouli replied while the two of them continued to their destination. "If I heard correctly, their situation is similar to many of the youkai of Gensokyo."

"In that aspect, we can empathize with them. Not personally, but some of the other youkai I know could." Alice added, looking at a passing tofu shop with a tantalizing scent.

The other youkai left them alone for the most part. They received some stares occasionally, but most of the youkai minded their own business. It was interesting to see some of scared, interested, and even seductive looks that the various youkai gave to them though Alice and Patchouli continued ignoring them.

"This may seem a little random. But regarding Cao Cao and Georg, do you think you could have beaten them?" The puppeteer seriously questioned, looking to her fellow magician for an answer who stopped in place.

"As confident as I am in my skills, I'd have to say no. I was fighting in a much better state than I normally was and I was still defeated. Had I known they were coming, I could have certainly raised my chances of winning with preparation. A magician with the correct information and knowledge is something to be truly feared after all. I could have lasted much longer had I not been hit, but winning seemed very unlikely." Patchouli solemnly answered, twisting herself to stare at the blonde magician.

"The spearman had a very powerful spear. Enough to make most of my standard spells completely useless. His proficiency in it was very high as well. I had to begin relying on my Spell Cards in order to make a significant difference on him. The Balance Breaker he revealed to me in his talk also makes me believe he has something more in hand, though he confessed that it may have not worked very well on me."

Alice brought her hand to her chin in a thinking pose. "Hmm. That's Cao Cao then. What about Georg? Do you know anything about him?"

Patchouli shook her head. "Not very much. At most, he excels in wind or mist magic. The mist you and Aya saw rushing towards me also served as a container that could have imprisoned me had it surrounded me. He seems to be a Magician of sorts, though I have no inkling of what he would specialize in other than what I saw. Cao Cao mentioned that Georg protected him during one of my Spell Cards, but I didn't see a barrier of any sorts. Both don't seem as stupid as the fairies in Gensokyo at the least."

"Two powerful opponents, just like that." Alice muttered so that only the two of them could hear it. "How do you think you would do if Aya or I was there?"

Patchouli scoffed at the question. "Cao Cao was able to close the distance on me, though I didn't make it easy for him. If you were there, as long as Georg does not interfere, we can defeat him even on my worse days. Your versatility in your dolls makes you a powerful magician at all ranges, unlike myself who fares much better in mid and long range fights. As for that tengu, I don't foresee having any problems. He is by far, _much_ slower than her. Her manipulation over wind should far exceed that bespectacled inferior Magician as well. "

"I suppose we have that going for us." Alice commented and the two of them resumed strolling to their destination again.

"This is on a whim…" Patchouli started, causing the puppeteer to glance at her. "But I heard that that the entire team from Gensokyo has told Aya her reasons for joining it and leaving for the Outside World."

Alice raised an interested eyebrow. "Yes. Whether directly or indirectly, we all have for her most recent article. You're the only one she hasn't gotten it from though she's been persistent in talking to you, hasn't she?"

The librarian huffed indignantly. "She has. It's been irritating, but it hasn't been on negative intent at least. I've rebuked her several times, but I suppose I should tell you and her now, seeing as the both of you won't stop asking me."

"Ahh, the mysterious reason Patchouli-san is here." Alice joked kindly, breaking her serious manner for a moment. "I'm sure Aya-san will be glad to hear it from you. I support her reasons for gathering it and she is serious in it."

"In that case…" Patchouli started. "Yukari personally requested to Remi for me to join the team that would head to the Outside World. I was the first one besides Suika."

"Yukari-san..."

If Alice was surprised, she didn't show it on her expression. Instead, it was a calm and polite one that awaited Patchouli's answer.

"It's no secret that Remi is fond of Reimu. They'll duel occasionally with mixed results. Sometimes Remi will win and sometimes Reimu will. Remi ended up in a slump for a while after the shrine maiden entered her coma." Patchouli started as the two of them continued walking.

"A slump? From Remilia?" Alice's eyebrow rose in interest at the thought of such a thing coming from a 500 hundred year old vampire with the personality of a child at times.

"Strange as it sounds, that is the truth. Afterwards, she stopped by my library one day and asked that I look for a way to awaken her and I attempted to without much success. One day though, Yukari visited Remi to tell her about the plan to bring the youkai of the Outside World over to Gensokyo for several purposes." Patchouli continued her explanation, even dryly smiling at one point of it.

"I'm sure you've heard of her reasons to do so. The first was to quickly repopulate and make up for the losses during the Lunarian Invasion. The second was to quickly gather a defense force from the recent immigration. The third was to give enough faith to Reimu, making her a living Goddess like Sanae, which would awaken her from her coma." The librarian raised fingers for each purpose raised.

"I do remember Yukari mentioning all three of those before we left for the Outside World." Alice supported.

"That's right. And Remi agreed to it as soon as Reimu being revived was part of the plan. She asked me to join the team in person and I accepted as her friend. I don't believe it's as emotional as Marisa's would be or maybe even your's. But it's simple enough." Patchouli finished up as Alice gave a sincere smile at it. "Yukari asked me to find a way to remove the magical leylines from Yasaka and it was within my ability, so I accepted."

"Very short. And you're right. Certainly not as dramatic compared to myself or Marisa's." The blonde magician agreed as they stopped at the edge of the city.

Here, a barrier that shimmered glowed every once in a while. An obscured and blurry view of the modern city could be seen as people walked by past where Alice and Patchouli without any indication of being aware of the barrier.

"Ahh, we're here."

"I'll run a basic magical scan over it to see if it's been torn down recently or broken through." Patchouli stated before she pointed at another section of the glimmering barrier. "See if you can find if it's been tampered with."

Alice did just that as Patchouli held her hands out an inch away from the barrier. They began glowing with magic coursing through it as Patchouli closed her eyes to focus on the barrier.

It was solid. It had layers upon layers within it. Reimu and Yukari would find this a powerful barrier, but nothing they couldn't tear down if they chose to. It reeked with centuries of experience and age. The oldest layer was within with the newest being on the outside.

Then, Patchouli snapped out of her reverie with shock on her expression.

This was not good. She immediately walked over to Alice who was frowning at what she had found as well.

"It's solid Alice. There's been no signs that it's been broken through."

The puppeteer shook her head. "I couldn't find anything either. It hasn't been tampered with. I don't like these implications."

"This can mean two things." Patchouli started. "Either we have a traitor in our midst somewhere within Inner Kyoto allowing them through. Or…"

"Cao Cao and Georg have a way to get through the barrier without us knowing somehow." Alice finished for her. "This is not good at all. I don't know which one is worse. That we may have to watch our backs at all times and be vigilant in everything we do, or that we'll be freely spied upon and be careful with everything we say. Or even both."

Patchouli stared off into the shimmering barrier, pulsing gently.

"Let's go. Yasaka is going to have to know. Whether we want her to or not."

xXx

"Ahahaha!" Marisa laughed boisterously, hands on her stomach as Issei explained his recent conundrum. "Ya' ran into Asia in the shower!? That's great!"

"Stop laughing! I didn't think she was in there! I was just thinking to myself and I went in accidentally with something on my mind! I don't even want to remember the look my Mom gave me when she came in!" Issei tried to defend himself, though it served to do nothing except having Marisa laugh even harder. "Asia even made it worse! She pressed her _boobs_ against my back while hugging me from behind, telling me that someone told her bathing together was a Japanese custom to help deepen friendships! My morals were being thrown out the window!"

Reisen was next to Marisa, giggling to herself at Issei's expense. Marisa unable to sit up any longer, fell over onto the ground, pounding it with her fist with one hand on her stomach to help ease the pain of laughing too hard at the poor lone male in front of them.

All of them were seated around the Inaba Clinic's living room. With the events involving Asia being over, changes had occurred over the next week. Issei visiting the Inaba Clinic on occasion to talk to the Clinic Team was one of them, often explaining to them recent events of what had happened over the last few days.

"Geez. It's not that funny." Issei complained. "Anyway, yeah. Asia stays with me in my house now. Buchou persuaded my parents to take her in somehow and now they adore her like the daughter they never had."

Marisa wiped a tear out of her eyes as her laughter finally slowed down. "Ha… well. Now ya've got a cute girl livin' in your house right? What's there ta' complain about? Most guys would kill ta' be in yer' situation."

"Nothing!" Issei exclaimed, as he raised a fist resolutely. "I just feel like… I have to protect her innocence! She hardly knows anything about the world outside of books and the church! That's why it's my duty to make sure nothing corrupts her!"

The blonde witch chuckled to herself. "Ya' say that, but ya' know yer' a devil right? Isn't that yer' job? To corrupt humans and whatnot?"

"Well… but she's…! I… can't argue with that." Issei didn't expect the strangely sound logic that she told him and he hung his head in shame.

"So yer' a massive perv' and ya' fail as a devil." Marisa pointed out, finishing him off with even more cruel statements. "Life really sucks for ya'."

"Ease up on him Marisa. He's not used to your teasing." Reisen tried to assist though the soft smile she had on her face told the others she enjoying this as much as Marisa was.

The human pouted at her before assenting to her request. "Alright fine. I'll give him a break."

"Reisen-san…" Issei cried gazing at the spoken person with a look of gratitude. "My savior! I'm not the devil here. Marisa-san is!"

Marisa just waved at him cheerfully with a grin on her face.

"There must be something good that's happened recently at the least. Do you have anything like that?" The moon rabbit asked and Issei perked up immediately.

"I do! Ever since Asia started living with me…" Marisa gave a snigger here, though Issei ignored it and continued. "She's been going to school with me. Buchou enrolled her so we go to school together now! She even helps wake me up and cooks for me! All the other guys are so jealous of me whenever she's around me."

"What do the girls think then?" Marisa asked inquisitively.

"They think it's cute. Asia is always around me. But they don't like me a lot." Issei answered happily all the way through.

Reisen raised an interested eyebrow. "The girls dislike you? Why's that?"

"Because… I always try to spy on them when they're naked! Looking at their breasts, the heaven of all teenage guys… Is always worth everything! Even your reputation!"

After his declaration, silence reigned momentarily as Marisa and Reisen both looked at him with mixed expressions. Reisen with one of utter disbelief and Marisa with a casual one that didn't appear to care too much.

"Ya' know, I was jokin' when I said you were a perv' earlier just ta' make fun of ya', but I guess I wasn't wrong after all. The fact ya' said that with so much determination with your fist clenched…." She nonchalantly said, crossing her arms behind her neck. "No wonder all the girls hate ya'."

Issei shook his head as he stood up from his chair, resolve in his eyes burning. "It's not over! Because my dream… is to become a harem king! Your words don't affect me at all!"

Here, Reisen looked at Issei with the same expression as earlier while Marisa twisted her head to the side, hand covering her mouth to stop herself from laughing openly.

"I-I suppose it's… a dream. Not the best…" Reisen slowly managed to remark, as if trying to rationalize his words. "But a dream regardless. I don't think I've ever heard such an outrageous one though."

"Hmph. One day, all those stupid bishounens will know that I got a harem before them!" Issei huffed with both excitement, beating his hand against his chest once before sitting back down. "But before that, Buchou said I have to get strong enough to become a high-level devil. I have to train and do these contracts for other people."

Marisa and Reisen vaguely remembered Aya mentioning how the devils interacted with clients in a non-malicious fashion regarding contracts.

"Contracts huh? Sorta like a deal?" Marisa inquired to make sure she had it right, which Issei nodded to. "So what kinda contracts do you do then?

"Contracts are supposed to give reputation to the devil that fulfills them successfully. Though, my last client…" Issei started reluctantly. "It was easily one of the scariest things I've ever seen. Someone like that shouldn't exist… I don't really want to talk about it."

"Why? Was it that bad?" Marisa asked curiously before he looked at her seriously.

He nodded his head gravely. "Yeah... Mil-tan."

Issei shuddered at the very thought of the innocent sounding name becoming an utter nightmare while his obviously scared voice spoke.

"H-He was a bodybuilding man who wanted to be a Magical Girl and dressed in a Gothic Lolita Dress."

Reisen raised an eyebrow, interest piqued. "A magical girl? Gothic Lolita?"

Another nod. "Yeah. L-Let's just talk about training. I don't want to talk about him anymore. The faster I forget about him, the better."

Marisa shrugged casually. "I think yer' just overreacting. Doesn't seem like that big a' deal."

His body shivered at her nonchalant action at the image that procured in his head.

"A-Anyway! School's a lot better ever since I started hanging out the Occult Research Club! My popularity is even rising!" His mood shifted around quickly as he brought out his backpack to open it up. "Enough that some girls walked up to me and gave me this book for free!"

He took out the book in question and placed it onto the table. The cover was completely blank except for its dull gray color scheme. The back was the same and the book was moderate in size, but not too thick either.

"It doesn't look professionally made. What's it about?" Reisen examined the rather plain looking book with no actual cover.

Issei shrugged his shoulders in the same fashion as the blonde witch. "I actually don't know. I haven't opened it up yet since I wanted to show you guys too. It must be really good though because the girls blushed and then ran away. That's never happened to me before."

"Hurry up and open it then! It sounds interestin'!" Marisa energetically demanded as Issei did just that, opening up to the front page of the book.

His eyes lit up with recognition. "Hey, it's a doujin! This art looks pretty good! They even drew me pretty accurately!"

"So it's a story about you?" The doctor asked inquiringly. "I suppose that does confirm that you've gotten more popular."

"Yeah!" Issei grinned enthusiastically as he flipped onto the next page. "Oh hey, Kiba's in here too! We're saying some pretty weird things, but whoever wrote and drew this did a good job! This is pretty good!"

He decided to skip a few pages onto the next one. This time however, confusion began spreading on his face.

"Wait, why are our shirts off? I mean our pants are still on, but… This is kind of awkward to look at."

He turned a few more pages.

"Now our pants are off. My thing is sticking out too…. Oh…"

He immediately shut the doujin and laid it on the table, his face turning green as the two females looked at him with worry on their faces.

"Issei-san. Are you alright? What was in there?" Reisen placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

He began taking deep breaths to hold in his bile as Marisa decided to voice her concern too. "Issei, you alright there? Ya' need some water?"

The devil nodded his head slowly and Marisa went to do just that while Reisen looked at the innocuous looking book on the table. She moved a hand to grab it, but Issei slammed his onto the book to prevent her from opening it.

"No! Don't!" He warned as she looked at him in quizzically.

"I don't understand. Unless you tell me what's in there, I have to look for myself in order to help you."

He shook his head fiercely, looking to her with an utter look of fear. "No… You don't want to look in there. It's… my worst nightmare…"

Marisa came back with a cup of water in hand, placing on the table as she sat back down. "What is it?"

"I-I can't say. It's…" He shook his head again, shaking away his doubts. "It's one of my worst fears. Sorry, but I'm going to burn that doujin as soon as I get home."

As he moved to put away the book, he gasped. "Oh no!"

"What? What now?" Marisa asked again with irritation in her tone from the various unclear answers she got.

"I just realized…" He muttered. " _Asia_ has one too! I remembered seeing one of the girls give her one!"

He dropped onto the ground, arms forward to support to his weight with legs bent in an L shape as his eyes dropped tears. "I'm sorry Asia… I failed to protect your innocence."

Marisa nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders. "I'll just say it again. Life sucks for ya'."

He sadly agreed as talks continued between the three peacefully for the most part. Issei began to discuss his training under Rias for the past few days in which he woke up at five in the morning. Marisa gave him an impressed look at that while Reisen wondered whether he was getting enough sleep in that case. The sun began setting until Issei brought up a topic that had been bothering him for a while.

"Actually… Buchou has been acting weird lately. I was wondering if I could get your advice." He informed his hosts as he took a sip out of the tea that Reisen had gone back to the kitchen for. "Asia joined the Occult Research Club too even though she's not a devil so she can be around me more. But even she's noticing that Buchou's not really acting how she is."

"How so?" Reisen requested to know, prying to get more details.

"Well, she's been blanking out a lot. She has this faraway look whenever she looks at me and Asia. We had to snap her out of it a couple times now, but Buchou looks sad after we do. She tries to hide it though." Issei continued explaining. "I'm not sure what's going on. The others haven't really told me either so I was wondering if you guys might know what's happening to her. Is she sick? What do you think I should do?"

Reisen shook her head and smiled sincerely at him. "It's a good sign that there's been something on her mind for the past few days. It may or may not have something to do with you. You can try and ask her about it, but if she doesn't want to answer, just leave it be. Offer that if she wants to talk about it to come to you so that she feels a sense of control over her situation if it's that bad. If it isn't, then you don't have to worry."

Issei nodded seriously. "Yeah… you're right. I should try and help her if she needs it! Asia can help too! I'll ask her if she wants to come with me to help Buchou. Thanks Reisen-san."

He looked to the window outside.

"Ahh, it's getting pretty late. I should be getting home before Asia worries about me or something." He stood up from his seat to gather his items. "I'll be leaving now. Tell Suika-san hi for me!"

"Will do kid." Marisa gave a two fingered salute to acknowledge she heard. "Come back anytime!"

"Good luck Issei-san. Remember to respect her decision if she doesn't want to talk about it." Reisen reminded as she waved good-bye to him. He did the same as he left the living room and they eventually heard the front door opening and shutting to signify that he left the Inaba Clinic.

"He seems to be doing well for himself as a devil." Reisen commented. "It's almost as is his life hasn't really changed. It may even turn out for the better, disregarding his death experience. He always talks about his new friends at the Occult Research Club."

"That Kiba guy, that short white haired girl, Rias and Akeno I think. And Asia if ya' wanna count her since she's joined too, but not really part of the club." Marisa named, pointing up a finger for each person.

"I think we should. And speaking of friends…" Reisen turned solemnly towards the witch. "What are your thoughts on what Aya-san has told us recently when she came here a few days ago? About the attack on Patchouli-san and the possibility of there being a traitor or enemies powerful enough to defeat her?"

The aged witch regarded Reisen with the same attitude. "Those two guys? Cao Cao and Georg? Well…"

She scratched her head as she gathered words on what to say.

"Patchouli ain't a pushover. Between me, Alice, and her, she's got the most spells under her belt fer' most situations. That guy's got some serious power if he got Patchouli down like that. Patchouli's weak ta' anything that gets too close ta' her but she still has some spells to make sure that doesn't happen. If he can get through those, I'm surprised Patchouli lasted that long. It just shows how good she is when she ain't held back by her asthma and weak physical ability."

"If that's the case, do you think the others stand a chance?" Reisen doubted for a moment.

"They'll be fine. If yer' stupid enough ta' give any magician time ta' prepare for ya', then they'll make ya' pay for it. As long as everybody is there, then some wacko with a spear can't do anything. Everybody there is strong too, so I'm sure there's nothin' ta' worry about." Marisa waved off her concern dismissively. "Ya' gotta give 'em more faith. They're not weak. They won't lose."

Reisen paused for a moment before agreeing with her friend. "I'm sorry. I suppose I'm worried for them. There's more pressure over there for them than there is for us. They have to deal with the entire Youkai Faction while we simply have to watch for any dangers that come by. I think they're fortunate that Aya had to be sent back to Kyoto then or it could have been worse."

Marisa beamed at the moon rabbit. "Exactly! Aya may screw around most of the time without tryin' too hard like most of us, but she's one of the best Gensokyo's got. She and Alice won't let anything happen. Now then…"

"Hmm? What is it?" Interest and suspicion decorated Reisen's expression as Marisa's smile turned mischievous.

"What're the chances Issei'll remember that his doujin thing is missing?"

Reisen looked baffled for a moment. "He seems like the type of person to forget some things. Why do you… Oh."

Her question was promptly answered before she could even ask as Marisa held up the doujin that Issei had left.

"I swiped it when his back was turned. He didn't even realize it." The innocent smile she had completely contrasted to her act.

Reisen sighed in disbelief.

"I honestly should have expected this, given your reputation back in Gensokyo."

"Yup!" Marisa laid the reading material onto the table. "Since he's finally not here, wanna check it out? I don't think he's comin' back anytime soon to get it anyway."

Reisen gave no action for a moment while Marisa looked at her with a massively smug grin plastered on her face. Eventually, she sighed again, deciding to give in to her friend's demands.

"Fine. At the very least, we'll know why Issei-san was so afraid of what he read."

"Haha, alright! First page then!"

A few more days passed in relative peace for the Inaba Clinic as their usual activities went by unhindered. Marisa and Suika both relaxed around the Clinic though there were a couple days when the former went out to buy more supplies for the Clinic with the hard-earned money that Reisen brought in. Suika continued her spying activities again with her mist, but it wasn't as often compared to when they hadn't been discovered. Then, Rias and her entire peerage came into the Clinic with Marisa already in the front assisting Reisen with papers.

"Oh, it's the full devil brigade! What's up?" She waved at them with a grin. "What's with all the glum looks?"

Issei stepped forward with a sheepish look.

"Err… Well…"

Reisen cocked an eyebrow as Rias stepped forward with a very determined expression, eyes focused and body straight.

"We'd like to request your assistance."

* * *

 **A/N: Here's Patchouli in all her magician glory! I really enjoyed writing her fight scene against Cao Cao and Georg since most of the fights have been curbstomps thus far. Here, it's more of a fair fight. Once again, this is a self-beta'ed chapter so if you find mistakes in it, you can sort of blame me. If you read the whole thing, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Try to leave constructive reviews if you can! Point out what you like or don't like and why! I always seek to improve!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Peerage is Training – Please Train hard**

Alice sat outside the giant shrine, looking up to the sky quietly with her dolls Shanghai next to her. She sighed at the recent events.

She and Patchouli hadn't told Yasaka directly about the possibility of a spy within the Youkai Faction yet. She felt that they should have done so already, yet they were being hesitant. An inkling of fear crept to her on how Yasaka would react once they told her the news. She managed to convince Patchouli not to reveal that piece of information yet and she had agreed for the moment.

However, they couldn't keep that a secret forever. Sooner or later, they'd have to tell Yasaka. The possibility of a spy within Inner Kyoto was too high of a risk to keep unchecked. Yasaka was the leader of the Youkai Faction. There was a chance of her becoming enraged to hear such accusations, having been with the faction for longer than she had been alive. She was a very reasonable person, but was it worth risking it? A plan to try and root out the spy themselves had been considered before tossing it away. With only two other people from Gensokyo, along with herself in Inner Kyoto, it was out of the question. If she wanted to be more technical as well, only Aya would be eligible to take on that task as she and Patchouli would be too busy finding an alternative source to transfer the magical leylines.

"Oh? This looks quite familiar."

A familiar, jesting voice came from behind her and the youkai puppeteer turned her head around in its direction.

"Yukari?" She instinctively said, identifying the Youkai Sage as she saw a classic position she liked to take. She was seated on the gap distortion in the air as if it was a seat, wearing a purple western dress. A parasol was held with one hand, resting on her shoulder to block out the sun despite the shrine roof already doing that.

"Surprise," Yukari stated, smiling enigmatically as she pulled out a shimmering fan from inside the gap. "Sighing as if the world is so troublesome. Sitting on the porch of a massive shrine with nothing better to do. This is very familiar behavior, isn't it?"

Yukari shook her head in mock disbelief. "Honestly, shirking your duties like this when I've placed so much trust in you."

"And you? It's not as if I'm not happy to see you again, up to your usual ways again, but shouldn't you be at the border making sure the transition is going well?" Alice retorted, huffing at the teasing tone of their de-facto leader.

"Ran is handling it at the moment. The immigration is going well, enough that I can rest temporarily. If something were to happen to Ran, I would know instantly." Yukari answered dismissively before a gleam entered her eyes. "I may be weakened, but the distance between here and the border is short enough that I can be there in an instant if trouble arises. Those who threaten Gensokyo's safety will be handled in a fitting manner."

That was enough information to show Alice that despite Yukari being here, she wasn't slacking off.

"In that case, you have good timing. We've run into a situation. Patchouli and I could probably think of a solution sooner or later, but you being here makes it easier," Alice replied seriously.

Yukari gave a small hum of affirmation and stood up from her pseudo-seat to take one next to Alice instead. It promptly disappeared, replaced by the original appearance of the surrounding environment.

"I see. And what's happened recently that actually needs my input?" Yukari responded with a neutral expression.

With that prompt, Alice began detailing the recent events of Inner Kyoto. Patchouli's defeat against Cao Cao and Georg was the first thing mentioned. The powerful human spearman was a cause for concern, but Alice detected no sign of panic or urgency from Yukari. Did that mean he wasn't as big of a threat as Patchouli thought he was?

Nonetheless, she continued on to describe the possible method of how Cao Cao and Georg had managed to infiltrate Inner Kyoto, despite being sealed off by barriers that protected the city. The barrier was untouched, yet the alarms had not being triggered. Alice went on to explain the possibility of a spy being within Inner Kyoto as Cao Cao and Georg had been able to gather information on Patchouli researching to transfer the Kyoto Magical Leylines in a mist form. Possibly someone who was skilled with barriers to let the two infiltrators in discretely. She finished with Patchouli and her deciding that withholding the information was the best choice at the moment as the immigration of the Kyoto Youkai Gensokyo was going well. To reveal it could have unpredictable ramifications.

"It's unlikely that the Youkai Faction will discover a traitor within their midst. The majority of them are far too busy with other events." Yukari finally added, as Alice nodded at her words.

"Maybe. Our task is to protect the Youkai Faction and prove our worth until they completely immigrate to Gensokyo. A few days ago, the majority of the Youkai Council ruled in our favor that they'd speed up the immigration. Those two intruders wanted to stop Patchouli-san for some reason." Alice gave her input, and Yukari raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Then that gives away those two's actions. If you know what they're aiming for, then you don't need to worry about those two even if they have a spy."

Alice frowned unhappily. "How so? Patchouli-san stated that she'd be unlikely to win in battle against them. I might be unable to defeat them as well. Granted, I'm more versatile. But…"

Yukari waved her hand dismissively. "You're too paranoid. You're overthinking it."

"How?"

Yukari laid a hand under her chin, humming while pretending to think of an answer which only served to irritate Alice. Alice's patience prevailed though as Yukari eventually smiled at her.

"The fact that those two revealed themselves in the first place, while even stating their goal to stop Patchouli from finishing her research says plenty about them. Any fool on the opposing side who states their intentions is either confident in their skill, or has stupidity reigning over their logic. He didn't even take Patchouli seriously until it was too late and you and Aya rescued her," she began while Alice remained silent to contemplate over Yukari's words.

"Though there is a small chance I may be wrong, he likely needs Yasaka for something. What that is, it isn't clear. However, knowing enough of their intentions allows you to string them along. You don't need to find them. Sooner or later, they'll have to come to you."

"Wouldn't that be counterproductive? Having them come to us might put the Youkai Faction at risk."

Yukari elegantly scoffed. Alice mentally noted that it should have been impossible, but she did so regardless.

"But it could also turn to your advantage. There's cunning and power in just how decisively you can defeat an opponent when everyone believes they have the upper hand. They'll come eventually. You simply have to prepare for when they do. Have your forces increased unexpectedly. Set traps within your traps. Choose the environment most suitable for you to fight. Predictable behavior ironically is how I've managed to keep my boredom at bay, and Gensokyo alive after all."

Alice couldn't argue with that. Most of Yukari's antics in the past were relatively harmless in the end. That didn't mean she liked her methods too much though.

"If I might recommend something, informing Yasaka would be a good start. Yasaka is the one who can make all the decisions in the end, including adding additional guard. If those two are in a mist form, I doubt it's to the same expanse as Suika's. They can't be everywhere at once. If you're secretive enough, the spy shouldn't be able to catch wind of your activities. Moreso if Yasaka is involved. That should be enough to work with." Yukari concluded as Alice nodded her confirmation.

"Yes, thank you. But…" Alice looked at her questioningly. "I almost forgot to ask, since this went on for a while. What are you here for? Did you need something from us?"

Yukari smiled at the puppeteer, extending her hand into a gap to grab something. Her arm eventually stopped and she began pulling it out. Once it was completely removed from the gap, it closed and Alice's eyes glanced to whatever Yukari had taken from the gap.

Paper envelopes. Several of them were held loosely in Yukari's gloved hand.

"I simply intended to engage in light talk and to play as a messenger for the Gensokyo Team. This is for you." Yukari handed one of the envelopes to Alice which the latter took lightly.

She flipped it over to read who the person sending it was.

"To, Alice-san. From, Reimi Hakurei?" She muttered to herself quietly though Yukari heard anyway.

"Surprise." Yukari chuckled as her once again stated word, held very little enthusiasm as was intended originally. "She requested me to hand each of these to you six personally when I had the time. Do get around to it when you can. She wrote each one herself and she expects a reply eventually. I suspect she'll know if you take too long. After all, her intuition is quite powerful for someone of the Hakurei Line."

"I didn't think I was close enough to Reimi to receive a letter. I visited her frequently with Marisa, but it was more for her benefit rather than my own." Alice commented, slipping the letter delicately into her Grimoire, similarly to a bookmark.

"It may have been for Marisa, but Reimi enjoyed your presence nonetheless. She's young, but she remembers those visits very well." Yukari replied as she stood up from her seat.

"You're leaving already?" Alice questioned, standing up from her spot as well on the porch. "I'd have thought you'd stay longer to give the rest of the letters to Aya and Patchouli."

Yukari opened a gap. "I may have told the Youkai Faction that I was handling important personal business. I'll drop the rest of the letters off personally another time. Reimi told me to after all."

Alice wryly grinned. "I can imagine Suika already commenting. The great Yukari Yakumo, lowered to a kid's mail messenger."

Yukari turned around, grinning all the while. "It's not a bad job, considering who I'm doing it for after all. I wish you the best of luck."

And with that, she walked into the gap, disappearing with no trace of her being there as the gap closed. Alice decided to turn her focus on the letter instead.

"I suppose there's nothing more to do. I'll head back to my room to read this." She concluded, walking back into the depths of the shrine to open Reimi's letter to her.

xXx

The so called, 'vacation home' was more like a mansion, Marisa noted. Rias had led the entire group consisting of the Inaba Clinic and the entirety of her peerage towards the outlying forest path near Kuoh Town. At first the Gensokyo crew had no idea where they were being led to. When they had asked, all Rias told them was that it was a training spot that they could use. They certainly hadn't expected something the size of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Suika and Marisa both whistled, impressed at the size of such a 'home.'

"Ya' think Yukari would give us somethin' like this if we make out of here alive?" Marisa questioned, nudging Suika gently.

Suika returned her gesture with a toothy smile. "Maybe when everything blows over, you could ask her fer yourself. I already stay at Reimu's place most of the time nowadays anyway. I'm fine just stickin' around with Reimi."

Reisen turned to Marisa with an unamused expression. "Didn't Alice-san say that she frequently has to clean up your house Marisa? If you can't keep your own house clean, what makes you think it'd be a good idea to handle something bigger?"

Marisa simply shrugged and grinned back. "That's easy! I'll just stuff it with bookshelves so it definitely won't be as messy! And I'll have a bigger room for everything I keep! Then I'll just pay Patchy a visit ta' help fill it up! I'm sure she wouldn't mind so much if I did."

The Lunarian shook her head solemnly and sighed. "That's absolutely beside the point. And even then, given what I hear about your usual reputation and shenanigans, I don't believe she'd be happy to see you at all."

The human witch waved the statement off dismissively. "Nah~! Trust me! I'll get her ta' help me out! Whether she wants to or not!"

"In other words, you'll simply steal her books if she doesn't say yes." Reisen bluntly rephrased.

"Hey… don't phrase it like that. That's a mean way to say it." Marisa sulked, though there was no hint of denial.

"But it's the truth isn't it?" The light, purple-haired female deadpanned at the blonde and upon receiving another grin, she simply sighed at her antics.

Along the road to vacation home, Reisen had taken the time to think over what had happened to lead them to this situation. Rias had requested her assistance for something at the Clinic, but the circumstances were more complicated.

xXx

 _"_ _Assistance? With what? This doesn't sound like something that would require our healing services." Reisen immediately replied._

 _Rias gave a head gesture resembling refusal. "No. It doesn't. But from what I know, I need your help anyway. Please, let me explain."_

 _Marisa looked to Reisen, asking her silently what she wanted to do. Common courtesy dictated that they'd at least hear what they had to say before refusing or accepting. The latter silently nodded her acceptance to both the self-proclaimed Witch and high-class devil._

 _"_ _What is it then, Rias-san?"_

 _"_ _I know that you have no obligation to assist us beyond the circumstances of our contract of providing healing services and informing us of any suspicious activities around the town, but I'd like to request something regardless." Rias began, pausing to allow the moon rabbit to absorb the information._

 _"_ _And that is?"_

 _"_ _We'd like to formally request the Inaba Clinic to help train us in preparation for our Rating Game against Riser Phenex." She answered, as the two Gensokyo residents looked to her with various features. Marisa with her lips turned downwards into a frown while Reisen remained neutral._

 _"_ _I understand that you have many questions and though I'd like to answer all of them, I can only answer a few. I'm… under a strict time table."_

 _Marisa was the first to speak up. "In that case, why do ya' need us to help you?"_

 _"_ _To make things short, if I lose the Rating Game, I will be married against my will. I can't accept that and I will defy it no matter what."_

 _Suddenly, it became clear to Reisen on why there was so much tension in the first place. Rias was desperate. Desperate enough to come to them to ask for something that they didn't necessarily have to agree to. They didn't have any personal stake or involvement in her problems, but she ignored it in favor of at least asking anyway. And if the fire in her eyes were any indication, desperation could easily breed strong determination in the face of conflict._

 _"_ _To that end, I will ask for help from anybody I can get reasonably."_

 _"_ _What about Sona-san?" Reisen mentioned, recalling her from the negotiations. "Wouldn't she be able to help you?"_

 _Rias shook her head in denial. "Though this Rating Game is supposed to be unofficial as I'm not old enough to participate, anybody high enough in devil society will be watching me. Riser has asked that I receive no outside help involving devils to ensure by my own power that I win. Sona is a high-level devil as well. If she helped me, her reputation would be damaged heavily. As her friend, I won't do that to her."_

 _So in other words, Reisen thought, anybody who was involved in devil society wasn't allowed to help Rias. It came to say that since most people Rias probably knew that had power were devils, it certainly cut her off from gaining any potential help. It was a move intended to limit what she could do. Whoever this Riser was, he had an aptitude for cutthroat politics though that may just come with being a devil._

 _"_ _Riser is cocky, self-absorbed, and arrogant. But he isn't stupid. He wants to make sure that I don't have any way of winning and crush whatever spirit I have."_

 _"_ _But since we're not devils, we don't count towards the restriction. Therefore, we're assets he doesn't know about." Reisen analyzed Rias' train of thought. "And considering you're here, he must have given you something you can use."_

 _Rias nodded heavily. "Yes. He's given us ten days to 'prepare ourselves for the inevitable end.' Just enough time to make us think we have hope, but it's actually not a lot of time at all."_

 _"_ _We know that the Inaba Clinic isn't just skilled at healing services. At least two out of three of you are much stronger than us. Please, help us." Rias practically pleaded as the rest of her peerage joined her with hopeful looks._

 _Reisen muddled in her thoughts to think of the possible course of actions. Obviously, they could just turn down Rias. They didn't need to involve themselves with Rias' affairs, no matter how bad the circumstances were. It didn't really have anything to do with them from what she knew. On the other hand, this was practically one of the best things that could have happened to the Clinic. Rias, even as a devil, seemed like an honorable person as far as she knew. If the Clinic Team helped her, not only would Rias would be indebted to them, but it would help gain her trust very quickly. It would help them become allies beyond the tentative negotiations they had weeks earlier. It'd make things easier once they eventually revealed to them why they were actually in Kuoh in the first place._

 _The answer was obvious._

 _With resolution in her mind, Reisen gave the phrase the devils wanted to hear the most._

 _"_ _We'll do it."_

xXx

Eventually the team was led by Rias to what appeared to be a large dining room, complete with a long fancy, rectangle table. Lined up around it were luxurious chairs around the empty space, easily able to seat more than fifteen people at a time. A large window shone the sunlight in on one side of the wall. Another door laid on another side of the large room, to which the Inaba Clinic assumed led to a kitchen.

"Everyone, please have a seat." The crimson-haired devil requested to which everyone did so at random spots while she took her own place at a farther, narrow end of the table.

"Thank you." She graciously said, taking a quick glance at both her peerage and the three members of the Inaba Clinic. "To reiterate, we'll be having a Rating Game against Riser Phenex in ten days. In the time that we've been given, we'll have to train as hard as we can to match up to his peerage. But, I don't know how to train everyone and what we should be doing. Therefore, I've asked the Inaba Clinic to help us on what we should do to help prepare for the game against Riser."

The entire Peerage turned to the members of the said clinic who were all sitting together on one side of the table.

"Eh-hem," Reisen cleared her throat before beginning. "The first thing we should determine is what exactly the Rating Game is. Our group isn't knowledgeable about it and we accepted your request to help train you on the basis of building trust between us. Thus, it would be helpful if we knew what a Rating Game is and what it's supposed to be. Would you explain that to us please, Rias-san?"

The addressed leader nodded in confirmation. "It seems like a good place to start. The Rating Game consists of a battle between two high-ranking devils, using both themselves and their peerage. It's used in different ways, but the most common one is a show of power to other devils. It's meant to simulate war and nobody can die in a Rating Game. Officially, I'm not allowed to be in one, but the circumstances have changed."

Reisen gave a small hum to show she was listening.

"Each peerage is led by the King, a high-ranking devil such as myself. The Rating Game then has us fight each other in some way. The winning conditions can be different in each one, but the most common one is when the King is defeated in battle or they surrender."

"So, it's basically a team battle and the King is the boss, right? Is that it?" Marisa simplified to which Rias nodded.

"In a way, it is. The peerage itself is the team that protects them."

"I kept hearing 'bout some chess pieces being involved in all this. That have anything to do with all this?" Suika inputted her question.

"Yes." Akeno decided to answer the hidden Oni's question. "Each member of a peerage can be classified as a chess piece and each one has its strengths and weaknesses."

Reisen turned to the raven haired maiden. "I remember Rias introducing you as her Queen. So then you'd be something like her second-in-command, correct?"

Another nod came from her, but the answer came from Rias this time. "That's right. Each piece also has powers connected to them. Generally speaking, each piece increases their general physical prowess. The specialized pieces all grant different abilities though."

She first turned to Issei. "Issei is my Pawn. The Pawn doesn't have any special powers, but if they manage to reach the enemy base in a Rating Game, they can promote to any other piece to gain their powers."

Rias then gestured towards Kiba, sitting next to the perverted young man. "Kiba is my Knight. The Knight's specialty is their speed and mobility, but they don't have very good defenses."

Next to Kiba was the shortest girl of the group, who had remained silent the entire time. "Koneko is my Rook. The Rook's specialty is their physical strength and endurance. They're mean to be in the front, but they're generally slower fighters."

"I am the Queen. The Queen takes all of the strengths of each piece of the other pieces and combines it into one without any of the weaknesses." Akeno finished up and the Inaba Clinic group each gave their own forms of affirmation. "And the King doesn't receive anything as they are the leader."

"This almost seems reminiscent of Chess. I'm not overly familiar with it, but you only have five members. Aren't you supposed to have sixteen members then? You haven't mentioned the Bishop either." Reisen questioned to which Rias grimaced in response.

"The Bishop is a magic-oriented piece. They have increased magical prowess, but are weak to anything that manages to reach them generally. I have one but…" She bit her lip, hesitating momentarily before continuing. "I can't have him out at the moment, for good reason. This is everybody I'll have to fight with."

"So I can assume that you are also missing a Rook, a Bishop, a Knight, and seven Pawns?" Reisen inquisitively probed for more information.

"The first three is right. I don't have members for them. As for the pawns, it's another mechanic of the Peerage System we have. The Evil Pieces I have are meant to judge the potential of a person. The more a person takes, the higher their potential. Issei actually took eight pawns." Rias answered honestly, which caused the Gensokyo Team to look at him with different expressions on their face.

"Him? Seriously?" Marisa scratched her head, puzzled at such a person being capable of that much power. "He didn't really look all that good though when Suika and I fought with him at the church. Blondie did more work than he did."

Issei stood up from his seat, glowering at the witch. "Hey! I… I didn't do that bad! I did alright in the end and that's all that matters!"

"Issei-kun, please sit." Kiba attempted to calm him down, succeeding as he sat back down. Though, the glum look plastered on him clearly showed his reaction to her words.

Reisen cocked an eyebrow. Had something happened recently? Issei had bounced back fairly quickly after the church excursion to save his friend Asia. He didn't seem like someone who would dwell on something like that for so long.

"So that's probably what I saw when she went to heal the kid. I saw her put something in his chest before I left. Was probably the pawns she was talkin' 'bout." Suika whispered quietly to Reisen who gave no reaction as to not arouse suspicion from the peerage."

"Wait, if you've got five people…" Marisa started, turning to Rias after thinking over the information given. "How many does this Riser Phenex have?"

As soon as the question was asked, the mood took a deep turn for the worse for Rias' Peerage. A scowl had formed on Issei immediately while the others had controlled or suppressed grimaces on their faces. Koneko and Rias were tied for the strongest poker face, but the latter was one to answer it.

"Fifteen. Sixteen if you include Riser." Rias replied, successfully keeping the sullen tone out of her voice.

Suika whistled in response. "Wow. Those ain't good odds for ya' guys. If you guys had ta' ask for our help, then you guys already know that ya' can't match up to 'em huh?"

The silence that ensued gave the Inaba Clinic team the answer. In fact, the situation for Rias' Peerage was clearly worse than they thought. Not only were they outnumbered, but most or even all of them couldn't match up to their opponents. Being weaker against a force while being low on manpower was an utter nightmare of an uphill battle. There was no two way around it.

"Ten days isn't a lot of time. I can certainly see what you meant by, 'under a strict time table.'" Reisen stated, trying to be the voice of reason to raise their morale. "None of us can teach you on how to use what you have better, but we can still train you on some of the basics. Our first priority should be to increase everyone's endurance. You can't afford to lose anybody in an outnumbered fight and you'll need to able to last the entirety of it. We can raise your general fighting skills too, but I'll need to think of something to do both. Ten days isn't enough to do both separately."

As she caught the peerages' attention, Rias nodded in confirmation.

"It sounds like a good idea. What do you think we should do first Reisen-san?"

Reisen entered a thinking pose, placing a closed fist under her chin as she began thinking of a plan.

"We'll have to tackle one obstacle at a time…" She muttered quietly to herself. "No… information about Riser's group would be important now. Will that work? Have to have something in place if they get hurt in training…"

An idea suddenly struck Reisen as she finished.

"Ah. I remember." Reisen suddenly said, turning to Rias. "Asia-san. How fast do you think you can bring her here? We're going to need her."

"Asia?" Rias raised a confused eyebrow. "What for?"

"We're going to need to heal your wounds quickly to keep fighting and I believed you mentioned about her being able to. I can use medicine to do it, but it would take a while each time we used it on everyone and it would require you to rest for a long time. It wouldn't be the most efficient use of our time." The hidden Lunarian logically answered.

"She's still back in Kuoh. I can call Sona and ask her to bring her though." Rias corresponded and Reisen gave her approval. "In that case, I'll be right back."

Thus, the King of the Peerage left the room which left the remaining members along with the entirety of the Inaba Clinic Team.

"While she's doing that, could ya' tell us anything about Riser or his peerage? It'll help to know what they can do." Suika redirected the attention, leaning back comfortably in her chair while placing her legs on the table.

"Riser Phenex…" Akeno murmured loudly. "We don't know much about his peerage besides himself and his queen. Riser himself has the abilities of the Phenex in every aspect. He has a mastery over pyrokinesis and has the immortal regeneration of one as well. Rias and I might be able to match up to his peerage members, but not him. The others won't have any chance unfortunately."

"This sounds familiar." Marisa remarked as the peerage members looked at her in confusion. "Eh, just someone I know."

"Riser is very similar to someone we know." Reisen answered for them. "In fact…"

She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to dwell on Kaguya's relationship with Mokou. It was… complicated to say the least.

"Either way. Riser isn't unbeatable. There's a few ways to defeat him that we know if that's all he has. Marisa could probably explain it better."

The Lunarian gestured towards the witch who leaned back in her chair with a confident smile.

"Heh, my turn then! We fought a couple times without usin' our usual rules for fun. It kinda depends on how fast they regenerate, since ours could just revive herself. But the first thing ya' can do is to take him out in one go. That's usually the easiest way ta' just get rid of them. Ya' just need a lota' power ta' do it. Then you can trap them somehow and they won't go anywhere." Marisa grinned as she recalled one of the fights Mokou had with her so long ago. "The other one is ta' just keep killin' him 'till he gives up. Even they'll get tired sooner or later. Ya' just gotta outlast them."

"I don't think any of us are able to do that." Kiba spoke up. "None of us have an attack that powerful to defeat Riser although Buchou might. We might be able to kill him a few times, but even with our Sacred Gears, the battle experience he has over us would be too much."

"I think Rias or Issei mentioned that before too. What's a Sacred Gear anyway?" Suika mentioned, with the peerage looking to her in slight confusion.

"Ahh. I had thought that you guys had known about it already. Simply put, Sacred Gears are items with powerful abilities given to only humans." Akeno answered promptly though Marisa looked a bit baffled.

"But ya' guys are all devils." She pointed out.

The Queen nodded. "Yes. It can only be given to a human. However, if they become another species, they can continue wielding it."

"Oh. Makes sense I guess."

"In that case, what Sacred Gears do you possess? Anything to help tip the advantage to you would help immensely." Reisen decided to gleam more information about the topic.

"I've got Boosted Gear! When we were at the church saving Asia, I thought it just doubled my power, but I can do it every ten seconds now instead of just once!" Issei proclaimed, raising his left arm to his chest and tightening his fist as power began emanating from it.

"Issei-kun and I are the only ones with Sacred Gears. Mine is Sword Birth and I can create as many demonic swords with different abilities as I want." Kiba explained as Reisen took in the information given to her.

"Double your power 'eh?" Marisa reiterated, smirking as an idea began forming. "I think I've got somethin' Issei could use."

"Marisa?" Reisen looked to her a bit worriedly as if sensing her intentions.

Marisa waved off her concerns nonchalantly. "Don't worry Reisen. It's my favorite one, but I've got more than just that ya' know. Besides, they need somethin' ta' take out Riser right? This'll be perfect."

Reisen stared at her for a few moments longer before eventually sighing. "Alright. If that's your decision, I won't say anything."

Suika smirked at the interaction between the two. "Hoh… this'll be interesting. Think he could actually handle it Marisa? He's pretty weak, isn't he?"

"Don't talk like I'm not here…" Issei mumbled though nobody paid any particular mind to what he said.

"He's got the best chance if he can actually double his power. Not like it's all that hard to do in the first place, but it'll probably work for him better than everyone else." Marisa reasoned as she stood up from her chair and twisted her head in Akeno's direction. "There somewhere we can show this off? Yer' gonna like this."

Akeno appeared baffled for a moment before agreeing. "Very well. Follow me. We'll find Rias first and direct everyone outside."

Everyone shook their head and moved to the follow the Queen out of the double doors that led to the dining room. It hadn't taken long to find Rias as she had already been on her way to return to the room. When Akeno explained to her what their intentions were, Rias quickly agreed to the proposition. The latter began leading them outside to the massive backyard of the 'vacation home' and as Marisa took her position in the enormous clearing, the other spectators gave her a wide berth.

"Give 'em a show Marisa!" Suika cheered on the sideline, waving her arms up and down like an excited child.

"Heh, don't worry! I won't disappoint!" Marisa confidently stated before turning to Issei.

"Ready kid? Yer' gonna be doin' this attack for yerself, so watch and learn!" Marisa beamed as she pulled out her trademark mini-Hakkero out of her apron pouch.

"That tool again…" Rias whispered to herself as she eyed it warily.

Marisa dramatically tossed her tool into the air, catching it on its way down. She then aimed it upwards a distant mountain, gathering her magical power and guiding it to the legendary catalyst in her hands. She could feel the power forming in her chest and directed it to her arms. It flowed into the tool, coalescing in it as the magical tool began heating up in her hand steadily. The familiar warmth in her hand was a comforting feeling. She certainly hadn't fired one off for a while, circumstances definitely not allowing her to.

But now was the time to cut loose. If they wanted to see for themselves what she'd be showing, then she would give them the best she got. This was the perfect time to flex her imaginary, magical muscle.

The power finally finished gathering in the mini-Hakkero. It throbbed every second, almost as if it were taking heavy breaths and was simply waiting to release the stored power.

 **"** **Love Sign [Master Spark]!"**

Pure, unadulterated power burst from the center of the magical catalyst in the form of a laser. As distance was gained, the laser expanded outwards until it reached the length and width that Marisa had judged satisfactory. The familiar humming noise of the Master Spark filled her ears as it blasted across the sky at high speed in the direction of her distant target, the mountain. Marisa's witch hat almost flew off her head from the pure force of the laser, though it was kept on with one hand holding it down. She grinned with utter excitement at finally being able to release her power, no longer having to hold back so much of it in the Inaba Clinic's endeavor to stay hidden or to not completely destroy everything in Kuoh Town. The feeling of power and exhilaration Marisa felt each time she fired one of her signature moves off couldn't be matched at this current moment.

The Master Spark shot into the distance, completely incinerating any trees in its path as it was engulfed in its laser. The ground almost shook from its force and the grass was shoved aside from the heavy wind cast from the Master Spark's jet-like speed. Finally, the obstacle known as the mountain was its only target left.

It didn't last a second. The upper part of the mountain was disintegrated just as easily as the trees the Master Spark practically mowed down with little resistance. With her target destroyed, Marisa decided to stop fueling the Master Spark. She held on for a few seconds longer before slowly releasing the flow of her magic into the mini-Hakkero. The Master Spark reacted in kind, slowly compressing itself and becoming smaller to fit the disappearing fuel for it. After a few seconds, the Master Spark disappeared and the results were clear to everybody.

Numerous trees of the forest unlucky enough to be in its path had been burnt beyond repair. The grass, once straight and pointed in the direction of the sky had been permanently turned aside from the force of the laser. Finally, the upper half of the mountain, which had once stood strong with its base, had vanished. The bottom half which had survived had a semi-circle in it, a testament of the destruction it had recently suffered.

"Phew." Marisa said to herself, putting her mini-Hakkero away. "I haven't done that in a while! Feels like it's been forever!"

She turned to the audience to look for their reactions.

"Yo! How'd I do?" She asked jokingly towards her fellow Gensokyo members.

"Ten outta ten!" Suika shouted, raising ten fingers to show her score all while grinning.

"You looked excited to be firing one again. It really has been a while since I've seen it. It doesn't look any less impressive than before." Reisen commented, smiling happily for her friend.

Marisa practically preened at the praise before turning towards the other spectators, Rias peerage, whom looked on with complete awe in their faces.

"When Sona said that something like that could destroy an entire mountain… she wasn't joking at all." Rias quietly remembered the analysis that her friend had done on the mini-Hakkero.

"Easily a high level attack. Even Riser wouldn't be able to take on something like this." Akeno stated, looking at the powerful human. "The concept behind it seems simple, but the amount of power in it is something I don't think I could provide."

"Yes. Something like that would easily take out Riser," Kiba agreed as he turned to Issei. "And you'll be learning that Issei-kun? My, you sure have your work cut out for you."

Koneko simply nodded. "Yes."

Issei on the other hand, looked gob-smacked at the sight of such an attack at his disposal. "C-Could I really do something like that? If I could, I could easily beat the yakitori bastard!"

The self-proclaimed Ordinary Witch turned to the brown haired boy, smirking all the while. "The theory behind it is so easy; technically everyone with even a tiny amount of magic could do it. All it is is building up power and storing it, then letting it go all at once so it floods. But if you don't have enough power, it won't really do anything. Since yer' Sacred whatever can double yer' power, ya' can just keep doing that 'till you have enough for it. That's why outta everyone here, ya' probably have the best chance of usin' it."

"S-So I could do it right now?" Issei asked eagerly, almost salivating at such an attack being in his grasp.

Marisa scoffed, waving off his enthusiasm. "Pfft, yeah right kid. If what I saw at the church said anything, even if ya' doubled yer' power ten times, ya' wouldn't be able ta' do it."

And just like that, Issei's hopes and dreams crashed like waves against a rock

"But…" Marisa cut in. "That doesn't mean ya' can't get there. I'm sure Reisen's got somethin' in mind to help train everyone."

The entirety of the group focused their attention on the moon rabbit, who nodded.

"We'll have to start with endurance training immediately. The easiest way to do that would be exercise over a long amount of time. Since we won't have the time to do that, we'll have to do the next best thing."

"And what would that be?" Rias asked, though she had an idea of what it was going to be.

The lilac-haired lady turned to the group the devils. "Forceful fighting. With it, we can also help simulate the condition of being outnumbered easily. There are more details I'd need to work out, and taking to account that Asia-san hasn't arrived yet, we'll have to wait a bit longer."

And wait they did. The afternoon began in earnest as Akeno went into the kitchen to prepare lunch for everyone while they waited for their sole, magical healer to arrive. Lunch came in the form of sandwiches which no one objected to. Eating too much would only have it come back out through the mouth in the form of puke as Reisen had warned. She didn't fail to mention the potential stomach cramps everyone would face once combat practice went underway as well.

The members of Rias' peerage all discussed among themselves as they were eating, the power of the Master Spark. They each had their own comments earlier, but now that their thoughts had settled a bit more, further elaboration could go underway. For Rias, the item that Sona stated would most likely be able to destroy a mountain happened just in front of her eyes. She didn't think Sona intended it to be a literally true, but it turned out to be the case. Only Akeno Himejima and Issei weren't very apprehensive about Marisa's attack. The latter was excited to be learning about such a move. The former for her own… tastes but as a magic specialist, there were most definitely hints of heat and light magic detected within that attack. Issei wouldn't be able to duplicate an attack like that seeing. His magic was practically non-existent, demonstrated by not even being able to use a devil summoning circle properly, one of the easiest feats of magic a devil could perform. It'd be a different attack, but the appearance would most likely be similar enough.

Rias Gremory felt slightly lucky to have Marisa Kirisame under an agreement. If the attack really was fueled by light, it was something that could utterly exterminate them. There'd be nothing left of them as Devils if they were hit by such an attack.

As lunch finished, Asia Argento arrived with her entourage of Sona Sitri along with Tsubaki Shinra via walking.

"Issei-san!" Asia cried out happily as she rushed over to Issei with joy.

The boy instantly began conversing privately with her, though Rias decided to turn her attention to her friend.

"Sona, you're here. Thanks for bringing Asia. We'll need all the help we can get." Rias graciously thanked her as Sona took it in stride.

"Think nothing of it. I can't help you directly due to my status as a high-class devil, but I can perform miniscule tasks like this easily. I can simply dismiss it as visiting a friend in her time of need." Sona's violet eyes glinted with mischievous calculation.

"Then as a high-class devil myself, it'd be remiss of me to turn down your support." Rias jested back as the both of them smiled at each other.

"I'm sorry for cutting in…" Reisen interrupted, not wanting any of her comrades to rile up the two devil peerages any further. "But now that Asia is here, it's best if we began right away. I've had time over lunch to think of how we would help train you and I think I have a solution. First, may have I have a volunteer from your peerage to fight Rias?"

Issei immediately raised his arm first. "I'll go!"

"Good. And then to help emulate being outnumbered in a three or possibly four on one scenario, I'll need two more volunteers from Rias' peerage to fight Issei." Reisen requested for more and this time, they were a bit more hesitant on wanting to step up.

"I'll go." Koneko spoke up, stepping into the open space.

"Wait wait wait! I'm going to fight Koneko-chan!?" Issei began panicking, looking between the Lunarian and the Rook with strong symptoms of fear.

"Actually, Issei doesn't have very much battle experience unlike the rest of us. Would you be willing to have just Koneko?" Rias requested for the Pawn's sake, who was now looking at her as if she was a savior in disguise.

Reisen paused for a moment to give it some thought. Marisa and Suika had both told her that Issei was very inexperienced. His only involvement in battle was the successful attempt to save Asia. He had help from both Suika and Marisa, on top of Kiba. Koneko was there, but she was relegated to watching an unconscious prisoner. As far as they knew, he hadn't done anything else involving duels or combat. Rias had forced some training on him, but it was nothing compared to having actual duels or spars. Deciding that Rias was reasonable enough, the moon rabbit decided to acquiesce to her.

"Okay. It'll just be three then."

Issei whooped in cheer at his fortunate turn of fate before realizing that he still had two other people to fight.

"Umm. Who are the other two that I'm going to fight then if they're not from our peerage?" He asked Reisen curiously.

She simply turned to her two allies, both of whom were grinning deviously.

"Ahh. Best of luck Issei-kun. I think you'll need it." Kiba placed a sympathizing hand on his shoulder as the aforementioned person began babbling in response.

"Alright kid! Get ready!" Suika smacked a fist into her palm. "Marisa and I are decent at holding back, but our attacks are pretty destructive."

He began screaming in panic as he ran away into the forest for cover. Koneko instantly followed him, as did Suika and Marisa.

Reisen sighed. If Issei's first response at being outnumbered was to run away from superior opponents, then he was undoubtedly the worst of Rias' peerage in combat ability. Running into the trees to limit their movement was a good idea, but he most likely did it out of survival instinct rather than actually thinking it through on the spot.

"Will Issei-san be okay?" Asia asked with slight trepidation for his safety.

"He'll be fine." Rias assured her, though his painful wail into the air did nothing to do that. "He'll have to do this sooner or later. It's something all of us will. They won't hurt him too bad will they?"

Reisen shook her head in denial. "They won't. Marisa and Suika-san's attacks are destructive like they said. You already know that from seeing Marisa's Master Spark, but the both of them know how to control it. He'll only have to survive for a few minutes or so before I have another one of your peerage members replace him. As the days go on though, each session will be longer so be prepared. Asia is here to heal up any wounds you'll undoubtedly receive."

Rias gave a grim smile. "If it'll help defeat Riser, then it's for the best."

xXx

Issei had never run away in his life quicker than before. Even faster than when he was caught peeping on the Kendo Club girls when they were changing. And all of this was because three females, two who physically looked no older than fifteen had more strength than ten men combined. He barely ducked in time as another tree flew over his head. Yet another one thrown by Suika or Koneko who most definitely lifted in some form or capacity. What a world he had brought himself into.

 **"** **How droll… Partner."**

The deep voice he heard alone was a new acquaintance as well. One that came in form of a red, draconic gauntlet that he now wielded as a Sacred Gear.

"Ddraig!? Help me! Can't you take over my body or something and fight them? You're supposed to be some Heavenly Dragon right!?" He cried out in panic as he banked left in an attempt to lose line of sight from one of the physical powerhouses chasing him.

 **"** **If I could take over your body, I would have done so already. No dragon runs from a fight so easily! As the one bearing me, the Red Dragon Emperor, the Great Welsh, you're the weakest host I've ever had!"**

The deep, cutting words would have damaged his self-esteem, if he hadn't already known that. His training from Rias days before this training trip had even occurred, he knew. Deep down within himself, he knew that as a Pawn, he was the weakest member of the peerage. The battle with Raynare in his bid to save Asia had made that very clear. He could have made the argument that as a Pawn, he was deigned to be a sacrificial piece. But he wasn't satisfied with that. His acquaintance most definitely wasn't either.

 **"** **We are stuck together until you are killed. As a devil, your natural lifespan will be long and I won't allow your current weakness to represent us for that amount of time! The White One will never let me live it down!"**

White One? Who was he talking about?

 **"** **Are you satisfied with your current situation, Partner? Running away like some dog in a desperate bid for survival? Is this how it will be whenever you come across a battle against the odds?"**

No, he definitely wasn't. He'd have to turn around and fight sooner or later. He couldn't do what he was currently doing against Riser, hoping for a fair one-on-one scenario.

 **"** **The Magician, the other devil and that child will beat you around. However, you have an easy solution. If your current self cannot handle it, then perhaps boosting yourself will allow you to fight back. Don't simply run away from everything like you do during your perverted escapades. I was somewhat impressed by your determination to save that nun. Surely, you can do it again to save your current master."**

Right. Rias-buchou had everything on the line in the upcoming Rating Game. If they lost… No, he couldn't think about that. They had to win for her sake. There wasn't any way around it. He was defeated in one attack by the yakitori bastard. He couldn't have that happen again.

"Will I have a chance if I boost myself all the way up?" He asked quietly as his sprinting slowly crawled into a jog.

 **"** **From what I could see, not even a small glimmer."**

Yeah, that was sort of what he expected. Seeing both Marisa and Suika fighting at the run-down church had cemented their strength in his mind. Going up against that seemed hopeless.

 **"** **However, every moment of training will pay for itself even more. The amount of times you may boost will rise. As your body becomes stronger, so does the boost. Now turn around and fight! At least make them work for it. It's disgusting to see you run like this."**

Issei stopped running and turned around into the depths of the forest. It appeared he had lost them for now, but it wouldn't be long before they appeared again. He took the opportunity to raise his Sacred Gear to his chest to activate its power.

 **[Boost!]**

Before he could get a second boost though, he ground behind him exploded.

"Wahhhhh!" He was unable to hold back a cry of pain as the force shunted him forward and tumbled him across the ground. Though it caught him by surprise, he was able to get back up quickly face his attacker. She was seated on a broom that was high above the ground. It seemed the trees had done very little to slow down her flight speed in her pursuit of him.

"Ha! Gotcha!" Marisa exclaimed excitedly at having found Issei.

"Seeing as you're new with nobody to teach you, I may as well help you, Partner. Your body still can't handle more than a few boosts, but it should be enough for this training session. Stall her somehow while you boost yourself up. Do anything you can until you can build up your power."

"Ready kid? I'll be goin' easy on you, but do your best!" Marisa encouraged before raising an arm to launch a few giant stars upon his position.

Each of them was colored differently, but Issei didn't let its flashy and admittedly, beautiful colors distract him. He rolled out of the way of the attack and began using the trees as cover to block some of the shots. There was a small pause before she circled around his tree barrier and released another barrage.

 **[Boost!]**

The power ebbed in him as he felt a strange combination in himself. He felt his body becoming lighter, as if a heavy burden had been released. At the same time however, he could feel Boosted Gear's drawback of straining his body like it added an invisible weight on it. Nonetheless, he found it easier to move out of the way of Marisa's second salvo of magical star bullets. They were slow enough that he could get out of the way.

All of a sudden, his back cried out in pain as somewhat smashed against it and pushed him forward.

"Don't let yer' guard down kid!" Suika advised loudly from behind.

Issei cut through the pain and turned around to see another fist aimed at him. He sidestepped just in time as another jab sailed next to his head. A sidewinder was thrown out though Issei instinctively leapt back to avoid it. Believing that she had overextended, he shifted forwards to give a firm punch straight at Suika's chest.

"Aggh!" He cried out in pain.

It was a complete mistake. His Boost-enhanced fist bounced back against Suika's unmarred skin. Whereas his knuckles were now throbbing, Suika showed no signs of being injured. In fact, she was smiling at his attempt. He immediately backed away from her.

 **[Boost!]**

Boost number three. Would he be able to damage her now? Was it worth the risk?

"Hey. Don't forget about me!" Marisa warned as she bombarded Issei with her usual set of bullets.

With third Boost enhancing him though, it was even easier to dodge another slow volley from Marisa. As he was left unscathed, Suika leapt at him with fists swinging.

He banked to the right. He dodged successfully and he prepared to counterattack immediately.

"Look out!"

Too late.

Suika surprised him with a follow-up roundhouse kick and he was sent flying in the direction of a tree. To further accentuate his failure, Koneko leapt out of the bushes and grabbed him by his hands. Wasting no time with talk, she threw him back towards Suika.

Unable to regain control of himself, Suika punched him in square in the stomach perfectly. Issei felt spit flying out of his mouth as he was bounced off her fist like a ragdoll.

 **[Boost!]**

Like before, he rolled across the ground with no control. As he stopped, he forcefully pushed himself back up and coughed a few times in an attempt to regain his breath. He could once again feel power flowing through him, but the weight on his body was heavier than ever. It wouldn't stop him from moving, but he was sure any more and he'd be unable to take it.

"That's the last Boost you can handle Partner so it's time to fight back. All of them are too much for you though so just go for the weakest one."

"Which one's that!? I can't tell which one with how much they've been beating the crap out of me!" He mentally shouted to Ddraig as he took a few steps back to be able to face each opponent.

"The one with the white hair. You can't reach the Magician and you can't even damage the orange-haired one from what I saw so don't bother."

"Koneko-chan? Alright then!"

 **"** **Wait! Don't just go charging in!"**

He charged in with recklessly towards the Rook who prepared herself for his attack. Throwing a fist at her without much thought, she easily stepped out of the way, took a step forward and kicked him in the direction he had run in. His momentum turned against him, he fell onto the dirt floor.

Taking the opportunity, Suika leapt onto his back. He tried in vain to get her off, but her surprisingly high weight made it impossible. The strain on his body was too much and he eventually gave up all hope of being able to fight back. His struggling ended as his face planted onto the ground in defeat.

 **[Reset!]**

With the Boost now gone, he was too tired to do anything Bruises littered his body and his breathing was quick as blood pumped into his body quicker to compensate. With the automatic Reset command though, his power was utterly drained and he could no longer move. The Boosted Gear also disappeared, returning Issei's arm to normal.

"Guess it's over. That was pretty reckless, and that's comin' from me." Marisa chided as she flew down on her broom where the training group was.

"Weak." Koneko bluntly stated. "Aim for your opponent's sense of balance. Then try to deliver a precise blow."

 **"** **She's right. That was utterly pathetic, Partner. You have a lot to work on."**

"Shut up Ddraig…" Issei muttered to the Sacred Gear, though he was unable to really argue with his comment.

"Generally speakin', that's the basic. There's a lotta ways do that, but yeah." Suika added as she got off the teenager. "It was a nice try I guess, but ya' really have no idea what yer' doin' huh."

That was more of a statement than a question, Issei realized. He shook his head, agreeing with it nonetheless.

"How long did he last anyway?" Marisa asked to nobody in particular.

"Ehh… five. Maybe six minutes." Suika randomly threw out an estimate as she picked Issei off the floor. He gave a small yelp as she did so and she placed his body over her shoulder to carry and support him. "Most of that was just runnin' away though."

Marisa sighed, turning to the exhausted Sacred Gear holder. "Yeah, that's bad. Coulda' been worse at least, but Master Spark's a no-go fer him fer sure if this keeps up. He's gonna need to get better fast."

"Hey. I'm right here you know." Issei complained as he hung off of Suika's shoulder. "Is it that bad?"

"Yes." Koneko immediately answered with no hesitation.

"Awful." Marisa supplemented.

"Yup." Suika delivered honestly.

Issei released a sigh of defeat. "This sucks…"

Suika patted him on the head awkwardly with her free arm. "Don't worry kid. You'll get better. 'Sides, with us fighting, the bar's raised pretty high. Yer' not the only one who'll end up like this, tell ya' that. Could even help volunteer fightin' everybody so ya' get better quicker."

Marisa sniggered at the sight of a much smaller girl carrying an older teenager on her shoulder all while patting him on the head. She was sure that if Aya were here, she would have taken a picture and just spread it around all over Gensokyo with hew newspaper article. The honest truth would be exaggerated or distorted somehow, but no doubt it would bring lots of laughs. Gensokyo honestly needed it at the moment in her opinion considering its current situation.

Suika seemed to have caught her look, giving her a thumbs-up.

"Yeah… that sounds like a good idea. If I'm going to get better, I'll need to be in every fight I can." Issei concurred as he jiggled around clumsily on Suika's smaller shoulder, supported by her encircled arm around his body.

"Good attitude ta' have." Suika approved. "Now let's get back ta' the others. Still got four more people to get through."

Marisa scoffed, placing her hands around her waist cockily. "More like blast through. I already said before that none of 'em could even remotely get close to beatin' us."

She got back on her broom and turned to the training group. "Anyway, I'll fly ahead to tell someone else to prep up for their time. Unless Koneko wants to go next?"

The stoic devil shook her head. "No."

"Okay. I'll see ya' guys at the end."

And with that she ascended high above the trees for a high vantage and began flying off towards the vacation home. Suika with Issei on hand, along with Koneko started walking in the direction where Marisa had flown to leave.

 **"** **That girl carrying you…"**

"Hmm? What's up Ddraig?" He gave the mental thought to the dragon imprisoned within the Sacred Gear.

 **"** **That's not any ordinary girl, as you already know. Some kind of spell is concealing a part of her. I felt it when you punched her earlier. The same feeling came from the other girl next to you, but there's no spell. They're both hiding something."**

"What do you think it is?" Issei asked mentally, being extra careful to try and keep his face as passive as possible in case Suika or Koneko saw it.

 **"** **I don't know. It's not as if I could just dispel it. It's too difficult for me to discern in this state, but it's an impressive spell, whatever it is. As for the other one, she can naturally conceal it. You can keep it to yourself, or you could tell the others about it."**

Issei gave it some thought, all while still being mounted on Suika's sturdy, yet small shoulder.

"No. I'm sure they have their reasons. Maybe in the future I'll ask them. I don't know them that well, but I trust them. They helped me save Asia and I won't forget that. I should at least respect their privacy, right?"

 **"…** **Privacy. This coming from, no doubt, the most perverted human host I've ever had. The one who spies on girls regularly, all for the sake for some human mammaries. You're an interesting Partner, I'll admit."**

"S-Shut up! Breasts are the best things in the world! Don't insult them with that word!" Issei accidentally shouted in his defense for his hobby.

Suika looked at him in confusion. "Uhh. Who are you talkin' to, kid?"

Koneko glowered at the teenager. "Pervert."

"N-Nobody! Don't worry about it!" Issei quickly tried to dismiss, completely ignoring Koneko's scathing comment about him.

Ddraig meanwhile, was guffawing loudly at his expense.

 **"** **Interesting indeed. But…"** Ddraig stopped his laughter and immediately took on a more serious tone. **"One more piece of advice for you, Partner. Power begets power. Those who have power, especially my hosts, almost always attract others with power. Their lives are constantly riddled with conflict. You had a taste of it when that Fallen Angel first came after you, remember?"**

"Yeah. I couldn't forget, even if I wanted to."

It was an unforgettable event. It was still fresh in his mind, being only a few weeks ago. He never thought that having a girlfriend would end up with her killing him. Nor did he ever think he would become a devil, attempting to rescue someone considered to be in an opposing faction. It honesty was a complicated manner for him. Even to this day, he didn't really know how to sum it all up or his feelings on the matter. Everything turned out fine in the end though at least and that was the most he could ask for.

 **"** **That's just a taste of what you'll face throughout your life. She wanted you dead because of your power. It's because of her that I had to reveal myself after that."**

"You picked the worst time to show up! You just randomly talked to me in front of my parents! I thought I was going insane!"

And it was true. Having to explain to his parents that he heard something coming from his arm would have made for an awkward situation. His first instinct was thinking himself tired until Ddraig had attempted to speak with him again. Forcefully.

 **"** **It was still necessary. To hold my presence back anymore is pointless. Your only option now is to get strong Partner. I won't allow you, my host and representative, to be weak. We dragons are powerful creatures of pride. Though I still loathe you for the weakest host I've had, it's not as if I can choose who bears me and at least you have potential. And you're amusing. Therefore, let us survive the coming conflicts, Partner."**

"Yeah. I don't want to die before I achieve my dream of being a harem king after all! We have to get strong so we can survive!"

Ddraig couldn't resist the roar with laughter at hearing Issei's dream. Issei countered with more defenses at such a dream, though Ddraig said nothing in response.

Still, Issei thought, at least Ddraig was sorta friendly. His relationship with him was a little complicated, but it wasn't a negative one at least. To him, he was another friend helping him (albeit for his own reasons), just like the person carrying him on her shoulder and the girl stoically walking next to her.

xXx

Kiba was the last volunteer to step up to the training session. The others had all had their turn and none of them looked as if they fared very well. His first impression after seeing Issei emerge from the forest completely bruised and battered was slight trepidation. Asia had healed him to the point where there were no visible injuries left on him, but his exhaustion lingered. Apparently, it was a downside of Asia's Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing. It could heal the wounds of any race, be it devil or angel, but it could never take away the physical or mental exhaustion one felt.

Kiba sweat from perspiration from having to crank his speed to the maximum output. He had to if he didn't want a fist from the one he knew was a physical fighter that virtually surpassed Koneko in every way. She was much faster than he had originally thought. The long purple skirt she had did nothing to inhibit her movements.

He used his momentum to swing yet another one of his created demonic blades against Suika, one more time.

It broke like glass just as easily as the last one against her arm.

"Ya' know that's not gonna work." Suika pointed out again as she spun and went for a sweep kick. He jumped just in time.

It ended up being a terrible mistake. Unable to further maneuver himself in the air, Marisa rammed into him with her broom.

"Grk!" He bit back a grunt of pain as he was sent flying through the air.

Issei leapt from the bushes to try and capitalize on where Kiba would land, but the latter recovered in time. He got back up on his feet to evade a punch from his fellow Sacred Gear wielder.

Issei continued his assault, throwing punch after punch.

Kiba ducked under the first one. He sidestepped the second one. He slipped away out of a swing from the third one.

"Damn it! Stand still you damn handsome!" Issei frustratingly yelled as his attacks continued missing.

When the fourth caused Issei to overextend, Kiba hurriedly formed the sturdiest sword he could think of and slashed at Issei instinctively.

"Waaggh!" He shouted as he was forced back from his wound.

Kiba was given no time to push the attack as Akeno came in to help cover for Issei with her thunder magic. Thunder crackled in her hands as it shot forward in Kiba's direction. The Knight used his speed to get out of the way just in time, but more magic was thrown his way with Marisa bombarding him with her star bullets. Using his knight speed again to make his way through the barrage, he managed to evade the attack.

Or so he thought.

"Argggh!" The swordsman shouted in pain as a forceful punch on his back shoved him towards Marisa's volley of colorful stars.

They weren't explosive, but the blunt force knocked the wind out of him and onto the ground. His vision was muddled as he tried to reorient himself in time. However, he wasn't given any as Suika stood over his body and nonchalantly stepped on his chest.

And with that, Kiba knew he was defeated. He could still try to create a sword, but none of them held up against Suika's tough skin. On top of that, he was used to fighting Stray Devils where the odds were generally in the peerage's favor. This was the first time he had been so outnumbered.

"Alright. Fight's over Kiba." Suika announced as she stepped off of him and extended a hand towards him. He graciously took it and pulled himself back up. He panted heavily in exhaustion.

Never before had he been so pushed to this extent. Most fights tended to end before it got this far. Nor had he had to exert so much energy trying to stand up against the numerous attacks. Was this what awaited them when they eventually fought Riser? He had nothing against Issei, but even though he was relatively new to fighting, he had forced a distraction probably knowing that he couldn't beat him alone. Not only that, the others would cover for his inexperience. Being outnumbered was an exhausting experience, but he felt it a necessary one considering the circumstances.

"Are you okay, Yuuto-kun?" Akeno asked him out of concern as she flew down to help support him on one of her shoulders. Issei, despite his exhaustion from both his own session and joining in to fight him, took up supporting Kiba on his other shoulder.

"I'm fine. I just didn't expect this to be so difficult." He replied respectfully. "It's certainly a new and unique experience."

"Yeah. Trust me Kiba I didn't even last five minutes fighting. Don't worry, we'll all get better!" Issei sympathized, helping him over to where Rias, Sona, her Queen, and Asia awaited.

The sun was still high in the air as exhaustion filled every single member of Rias' peerage. Akeno and Rias still managed to look elegant as befitting of their status in the school they attended, but one close look would tell anyone that they had traversed through a physical ordeal of some kind. Torn school uniforms were common on Rias' peerage as Sona looked on in interest at the results.

"I see how this training method would be effective. Riser won't hesitate to win using members to outnumber Rias in a fight. It's a forceful method, but may pay off in the long term if you can adapt to it quickly." Sona informed Rias as the latter agreed to it.

"Unfortunately, we won't have much time to rest. In order to push your endurance capabilities to the limit, we'll have to have another round for each person." Reisen delivered the news that the trainees either took in grimly, or complained openly in Issei's case. "Is there anybody who would like to volunteer first?"

This time, nobody was enthusiastic to be the first to raise their hand.

"Nobody?" Suika pouted. "Fine."

She then pointed to Issei who looked at her in confusion.

"Kid! Yer' up first again!"

"What? Why me?" He complained half-heartedly, mostly due to his tiredness.

"I just like ya'. Now get up and get ready." Suika grinned with excitement as the boy grumbled in defeat and stood up.

"You're all monsters! Devils!" Issei whined, his body stumbling a bit though his wounds were healed due to Asia's healing.

Marisa snickered at the irony of the statement, seeing as technically, it applied to Suika and Reisen in a sense. "'Yer' the devil though."

The logic wasn't lost on him as he groaned at how true that statement was.

"We'll also still need two volunteers to assist us in outnumbering Issei." Reisen noted, looking over to Rias' peerage.

There was no collective groan, but the thought of having to go through another session brought many painful winces indeed.

xXx

The second session had not been all that much better than the first. At least with the initial one, Rias' peerage had been full of energy. Now that they were exhausted, their performance was worse overall in that their movements were increasingly sluggish. However, they were beginning to familiarize themselves to being attacked unexpectedly which Reisen chalked up to being a very strong positive point. According to her, she expected better results the next day. Nobody, even Issei, complained about the arduous training they were being put through. Sona and Tsubaki eventually left to return to Kuoh, though Asia would be staying for the entirety of the training period as an on-site healer. As the day passed, the group decided to eat together for dinner, Reisen called Marisa and Suika to another lavish room of the vacation home.

"How are the both of you feeling? You've been fighting almost all day. Are you alright?" Reisen asked kindly, looking worriedly at the two of her companions.

Suika gave a thumbs-up at her concerned expression. "Don't worry. It'll take more than this ta' really tire me out. I didn't really try all that hard anyway."

Marisa grinned at Reisen's fretfulness. "Same here. I didn't use any of my Spell Cards. Just the regular bullets. Ta' be honest though, it feels weird to classify our bigger attacks as Spell Cards. I've been callin' them that for years now and I'm not gonna change what I call it, but they're pretty much lethal without Reimu's Spell Card Rules to hold 'em back. Like during the Lunarian Invasion."

And it was true. The most damage a Spell Card in Gensokyo would do in most cases was rip or tear someone's clothing. Here, the results were already clear during their time here. Marisa's Master Spark, as intimidating as it looked, still did nothing more than complete burn off someone's clothes. Their modesty would be in danger, but nothing beyond that. Here, it destroyed a mountain during her demonstration.

"Please be careful. I'm willing to extend some trust to Rias' peerage in helping them, but I don't want to reveal everything we have, including our attacks."

Marisa shrugged casually. "If they have that weakness to light, then I wouldn't be able to use most of my lasers anyway since it'll just kill 'em. I'm stuck usin' my bullets. Ya' don't have to worry on that front."

"But what about you deciding to have Issei-san learn your Master Spark? If it's classified as a light and heat magical attack, he shouldn't be able to use it as a devil right?" Reisen countered logically and Marisa began thumbing her long held possession.

"What I said wasn't a lie, ze." Marisa answered, noticing she had used her long time tic-mark. "Oops. Anyway, if he stores up his own power to use it, it won't actually be the same attack. It'll be his own since it'll use his own power and affinity. Mine is heat, light, and a little bit of water, and unless he has it too, it won't come out the same as mine. It'll be something different."

Reisen was a bit taken aback at the thought process behind it. "I see. That does make sense, now that I think about it. You put more thought into this than I thought."

Marisa pouted at the unintended insult. "Hey! When it comes ta' magic, I'm one of the best, ze!"

Suika snickered. "Careful Marisa. Yer' slippin again. I haven't heard that for a few years though. Why'd ja' stop usin' that anyway?"

"There's a story behind that, but I don't really feel like talkin' about it." Marisa waved dismissively.

"Back on topic then. What were your thoughts on Rias' peerage then? How do you think they fought?" Reisen asked for their opinion and the two of them began thinking to themselves. Marisa placed a hand under her chin while Suika tilted her head sideways in thought.

"Huh… I guess…" Suika was the first one to begin, after gathering her thoughts. "I already knew Issei was gonna be the worse, but I thought they'd be a bit better honestly. Marisa and I weren't really tryin' all that hard and they still got hit a lot. I don't think any of 'em are used to fighting for a long time. Even before the Invasion, our duels could last fer a while. They've got their obvious strengths, like Kiba being decent at moving pretty quick, but there's plenty of others who're better. Koneko's got alright strength, but too slow ta' make it really work well against anybody who's faster."

Reisen shook her head to acknowledge what Suika had given her opinion on. "Okay. What about you Marisa?"

"Same thing. I don't wanna judge Issei since he's still a newbie. Rias and Akeno are decent magic users. It seems like they like ta' fly which is fine, but they're not that great at doing that and fighting at the same time since I hit 'em pretty often. It's not a bad idea though considerin' they can easily get the higher ground and aim fer people there. In power, they're okay. Not Byakuren or Patchy level strong, but good enough. The ground people like Koneko and especially Kiba are fast enough to graze my slower shots. Kiba could probably do well if I made it faster, but he can't really take a hit too well. Koneko definitely can't handle my faster ones. Just the slower ones, but she can take a few good hits unlike him."

Views and estimations given, Reisen compiled it all up in her mind. The training served a double purpose for the Inaba Clinic Team. First was how the Gensokyo Team would hold up against Rias' Peerage if things turned out for the worst. The second was to build with them since they had requested for the assistance in training in the first place. The first purpose was a no-brainer. The devils here stood absolutely no chance against them. As for the second one, that was still an ongoing project for the foreseeable future.

"To be fair, we're comparing them to our standards of fighting. You're one of the fastest humans able to fly Marisa. I'm unsure on how to accurately judge how skilled and powerful they are." Reisen rebutted, playing the devil's advocate temporarily. "Do the both of you think you can keep it up for the rest of the trip?"

The two of them consented, shaking their heads as they did so.

"No worries. As long as we get a bit of rest, I think we can do it." Marisa optimistically said. "Tomorrow, I'll see if Issei can start training up to use his own version of Master Spark ta' see how much work he needs. I'm a little excited to see how it'll turn out. He might be a bit tired to fight after using it though so keep that in mind."

"Okay. If this keeps up, we'll have eight days to prepare ourselves," Reisen finalized as her two companions looked at her questioningly. "They'll need one day at least to rest before the battle. Muscles worked intensely often require a solid resting period in order to recover and be used at their physical peak the next day. It'll also be a good time to learn more about Riser and give advice on how to handle the Rating Game."

"Alright. Think I got it." Suika stretched out her arms in a somewhat, tired fashion as her bones creaked from use. "This Rating Game they have kinda sounds interestin'. It favors all the stronger people though, so I don't think Gensokyo could do it right."

"Heh…" Marisa chuckled at the thought of it. "I'd like to try one sometime while we're in the Outside World. If we could actually get a whole group together, it does sound like it'd be fun."

"I… wouldn't object to the idea," Reisen tenuously admitted. "It's been a while since I've actually fought at all. During the Invasion, I was mostly helping Master keep everyone alive. I actually miss the nonlethal Spell Card Duels. They were fun."

Marisa scratched her head, sighing all the while. "Yeah…, it's really been a while since we've had fun duels like that. I miss… fighting Reimu over the littlest things. But…"

Her eyes, burning with determination, gazed at the other two.

"When, not if, she gets better, we'll all get ta' have fun again 'till the end of our lives. 'Cause we won't fail here. Yukari's countin' on us after all."

Suika raised her purple sake gourd into the air. "Hear hear! I'll bug Reimu to host a party to celebrate her own revival too! Nobody'll object, that's fer sure."

"Then it's agreed. A party, and several Spell Card Duels when we get back. Good goals, coinciding with bringing the Youkai Faction in Kyoto over to solve Gensokyo's population disparity and fighting force. Much better than someone else I know…"

Reisen let loose a small hum of disapproval at said person.

"Just let it be Reisen. It's a pretty funny goal. If he wants to be a Harem King, just let 'em." Suika pat her on the shoulder, unable to resist chuckling softly at the absurdity of such a thing. "Now let's head back. I don't wanna miss dinner and I have a feelin' at least one of 'em's a glutton."

The three of them decided to end it there and returned to the dining room. As they entered, they waved off most of the questions asking what they were doing and simply sat to eat among themselves. The next training day would be just as grueling as the worst for Rias' Peerage, they knew. Issei they noticed, was speaking to Asia about a potential new move he had plans on creating. They assumed he meant the Master Spark and ignored it mostly, but what he had in the works was different than they believed.

xXx

Rias laid back on her king-sized bed with exhaustion overwhelming her every pore of energy. The training was taxing to say the least and practically draining otherwise if one were to assume the worse. She thought she knew what she was getting into when she asked the Inaba Clinic to train them. It turned out false.

Their powers had been confirmed by her very own eyes. Not that she didn't trust her Knight when he had reported what they could do, but seeing it was another thing. The group she had asked to help train them rounded itself incredibly well. Marisa was a magician that seemed borderline impossible to touch in the air. To add it all up, the Master Spark proved without a shadow of any uncertainty that the magical power that Marisa had was superior to both her and Akeno, combined.

Suika was a powerhouse that was invincible against anything resembling a physical attack. Unlike Koneko, she wasn't slow by any means either. In fact, they were almost too strong.

Reisen was the doctor that would definitely keep them healthy in the unlikelihood that they were defeated somehow. Both Reisen and Suika had a spell warping their appearance somehow, but she and Akeno didn't know how to exactly dispel it. Not to mention, it would probably sour the relationship she had with the Inaba Clinic group in the first place.

Her thoughts roamed to the impossible training session her peerage had with them.

The Inaba Clinic Team who had fought ten consecutive battles in a row. At the end, only Marisa looked winded. Several of the fights hadn't lasted more than a few minutes on average, but she thought they'd be exhausted from having to move and attack so much without much time to rest. Her peerage, who cycled in to volunteer on outnumbering the target, didn't attack nearly as often as those two. Most likely, it was a combination of wanting to either save their energy for their own session or already being too physically exhausted to do much else other than throw out a few attacks. However, Marisa and Suika attempted to capitalize on every opening possible. They didn't appear particularly hard to avoid, but if they connected, they were brutal.

It went without a saying that Issei performed the worse, but that could be chalked up to inexperience. He had done somewhat well for someone in his position until the very end. Even that could have been excused as not knowing how to physically attack properly in the first place.

However, everybody in her peerage hadn't really fared all that much better. Koneko landed a few solid hits on Suika, but the latter shrugged them off and counterattacked. She was sure she was holding back, as Rias had told her that from her knowledge, the unknown powerhouse was absurdly stronger than she appeared. The Rook had listened and tried to dodge her brutal attacks, but Marisa frequently took advantage of the momentary opening from not being paid any attention to. Koneko ended up being whittled down until she was left with no energy to continue.

Akeno Himejima, despite being her Queen, was soundly defeated as well. She took to the air with her capability in flight, but Marisa was superior in her flight maneuverability. Her specialization in thunder magic did nothing as Marisa easily dodged on her flying, household cleaning tool known as the broom. It wasn't as if the thunder was slow, but Marisa didn't seem affected by the wind in her face, or inhibited by any of the aerial factors such as being nauseous when spinning or discomfort from suddenly having to shift in one direction. If such things were a nonfactor, it was understandable how Marisa with her rather slow magical attacks had been able to outmaneuver Akeno. Suika didn't show the capability to fly, but she took advantage of Akeno's inattention just as Marisa did with Koneko Toujou. She leapt into the air at a surprising height and managed to deliver a solid blow to her from behind. Akeno had gotten used to it as the fight went on, becoming more alert and wary of unexpected attacks but by then it was too late.

She had fared similarly as Akeno. Her power of destruction spells were easily evaded by Marisa in the air and Suika used the trees to blunt her magic. Issei and Kiba had done the same as the younger-looking girl, knowing her capabilities. Issei had been unable to do anything on his own, although Kiba had forged a demonic sword infused with the power of wind to attack at her from ranged with air slashes. They hadn't been hard to dodge, but a few had grazed her regardless. Then, with speed she didn't think Marisa had, she had rammed her right in the back and blasted her towards the ground. Issei was hesitant to attack her, but Suika had followed up handily, grabbing her and tossing her right back into the air with practically no effort.

Needless to say, the first day of training was a slaughter. She and the others had been utterly demoralized at the end. Nobody showed it visually in front of the Inaba Clinic team, but it all settled in their mind. Their actual fighting experience didn't extend beyond terminating Stray Devils who happened to overstay their welcome in Kuoh. In those fights, they held all the advantages against their opponent and they had become too used to it. Such a drastic shift to being outnumbered was completely out of their element. Everyone in her peerage had previous training as well, with the exception of Issei but it made almost no difference. Never would she or her peerage thought they could be so easily beaten. Or perhaps, they all knew they would, but it had just begun to sink in how out of their depth they were. They weren't used to being so overwhelmed by people they didn't quite know.

"Just who are they? What were they even doing in Kuoh?" She asked herself as her mind tried to think of an answer.

During the negotiations, they had told her that they were seeking to repay a debt to Reimu Touko. That name didn't ring any bells at all and she couldn't think of any reason why they could help her in Kuoh. Were they seeking information of some sort?

They seemed content with just sitting back for the most part. Wouldn't they be a bit more active to repay this debt to Reimu? It made no sense at all. It was very suspicious, yet she couldn't glean any more information at the moment.

She didn't see any lie in Reisen's words though and she couldn't just ask her older brother to investigate the matter. He was busy enough as it is.

Nonetheless, there was no sense dwelling the matter any further. She could only put faith in her peerage that they would overcome this harsh training that Reisen had set up for them. She had to get stronger as well. Riser had given them a small mercy unknowingly, thinking that she was already doomed to fail with the conditions he had imposed on her to prevent her from getting any help from her fellow devils. She had to take full advantage of it if she intended to win her freedom against the immortal Phenex.

She really needed to get some sleep. No doubt she would need every bit of it to rest her weary body and mind.

"I won't lose Riser. I refuse to give up. I won't let you take away my freedom. Or my family." She muttered to herself.

She hoped her peerage would fare better tomorrow. If they gave up, then she would encourage them until they decided to fight again. She wouldn't allow the whims of others to determine her fate. She had no desire to have her peerage serve under Riser either if she lost. And she certainly didn't want to marry the egotistical fool who dared to harm her peerage. No, her family.

xXx

"So… the Master Spark," Marisa began as she started tossing her the mini-Hakkero into the air, catching it nonchalantly. "It's one of the best attacks I've got. It's my favorite one too. I said it yesterday, but the theory behind it is pretty simple."

Immediately after everyone had woken up and had breakfast, courtesy of Reisen and Akeno, Marisa had dragged Issei outside where the practice sessions had been held yesterday. The others had quickly followed to see what she would do with him. Thus, an audience was gathered around the two as Marisa continued tutoring Issei.

"For most people, it's just storing magical power, then releasin' it all at once." She explained as she put away her magical artifact before pointing at his left arm dramatically. "For you, all ya' gotta do is boost your power as much as ya' can and just release it all at once. So let's get started."

Issei nodded and brought his left arm up to his chest.

"Boosted Gear!" He shouted as the appendage transformed into the red draconic gauntlet that he was beginning to become known for.

"First, Boost yerself up as much as you can handle it." Marisa instructed as the gem in Issei's gauntlet flashed green as if responding to her command.

 **[Boost!]**

Another ten seconds passed.

 **[Boost!]**

Another ten.

 **[Boost!]**

And another.

 **[Boost!]**

Issei began sweating as his physical peak was beginning to show.

 **[Boost!]**

Issei began panting heavily. He wasn't necessarily tired, but the physical strain he was under was clearly visible to everybody. He had hit his limit.

Marisa frowned. "That's it? That's all you can push out?"

Issei could do nothing but nod as he attempted to hold onto his stored power as long as he could.

The ordinary witch sighed. "Don't think this is gonna be enough, but I guess we could try anyway."

She then pointed in the direction of a distant hill.

"Alright. What yer gonna do is release all your stored energy at once in one go."

"You haven't heard this command yet. So I'll show you, Partner."

Issei raised his eyebrows instinctively in shock at the voice of Ddraig coming from his gauntlet. Nobody had heard it except him though.

 **[Explosion!]**

Suddenly, the power that he had coalesced in his gauntlet. It shone brightly, red and green light emanating from the draconic arm and its gem in the center of his hand. Unable to hold the power any longer, he opened the palm of his gauntleted hand towards the hill that Marisa had pointed to. A red ball began forming in the center of his palm, forming rapidly. It swiftly drained all of his strength. He almost stumbled as his energy was sapped so quickly, but he could feel the power that had gathered in the palm of his hand.

It was… amazing. Was this how Marisa felt when she let loose her destructive laser? It practically radiated with power. _His._

Thought process finished, Issei fired the crimson sphere in his hand at the hill. Like Marisa's Master Spark, it expanded as far as it could as it reached the size of a basketball. Similarly as well, the trees that happened to be in the way were disintegrated and the grass was turned aside like plants being forced aside from the wind. Unlike the Master Spark, the size that Issei's attack stretched to was utterly inferior to it. In the end, it didn't even reach the target, its fuel extinguished due to the user's current capabilities. However, the results were clear. The devastation left behind, while not nearly as massive as Marisa's demonstration yesterday, had shown its worth.

Issei gasped for breath, the surge of power having left him so suddenly due to being used as energy for his most recent attack. Unable to keep a straight posture, he was forced to hunch over from such a draining move.

He took one last look at his undoubtedly most powerful attack before grinning. It was incredible! It left him so tired, but if he managed to get stronger…

He could already imagine what he would do to Riser.

Marisa gazed at the destruction, whistling with mild impression at the results.

"Hey, not bad fer yer' first time." She complimented, patting him on the back and almost knocking him over. "That Boosted Gear really makes it easier for ya' than I thought."

"Heh…" Issei managed a weak chuckle. "See? Don't underestimate me!"

Unable to keep himself steady any further, he dropped backwards onto the ground as he panted heavily for air in his system.

"Yer' not gonna help out much if ya' tire yerself out with just one of those. That wasn't even close to bein' half as big of mine, but it's a good start at least." Marisa praised him as she pulled him back up to his feet. "Oh yeah, yer' gonna need ta' name it."

Issei was taken aback at the sudden statement. "Name my attack?"

"Well yeah. It's not really Master Spark anymore. It's yer's now. Might as well call it somethin' else. Where we come from, we do it all the time." Marisa replied as Issei instantly began thinking of a name.

It didn't take him very long as a perverted smile began to dawn on his expression.

"Wait! I know what I'll call it…" He giggled perversely. "I'll call it… the Oppai Spark!"

At the declaration of such an out-of-place name, nobody could even respond properly. How could they? It was… utterly ridiculous!

"It's perfect! Yeah! The Oppai Spark! The attack that'll beat the stupid yakitori bastard! I can't wait 'till I get to use it on him!" He cheered loudly, already imagining his opponent's face when he managed to blast him with his newly named attack.

"Wow!" Asia broke the silence first, exclaiming in amazement. "That was amazing Issei-san!"

Rias sighed in defeat, pinching the bridge of her nose at his antics. "Issei…"

Akeno simply smiled, giggling with no hesitation at the name. "Fufu, it is fitting of him. Isn't it buchou?"

Kiba shook his head, imitating his King's attitude. "Issei-kun…"

Koneko glowered at the Pawn for even daring to name it that. "Pervert…"

The wielder of the Boosted Gear gave no care though. His excitement was too high to bother with anything that might ruin his good mood. To even add to that, Marisa burst into mirth.

"Ahahahaha!" She slapped her thighs a few times, continuing to guffaw loudly. "That's gotta be one of the stupidest names ever!"

"Yet, it somehow suits him. The renamed 'Oppai Spark.'" Reisen commented, shaking her head in total disappointment. "I'm not even sure what else to say."

"Just don't then." Suika answered, grinning at the group's shenanigans. "It's his attack. He can do what he wants with it."

Reisen released a huff of air in response. "Fine. But he'll still have to train to use it. It's impractical at the moment if it tires him out with just one use. So far, it doesn't even compare to Marisa's."

Suika shrugged. "It's kind of a given. He'll get better eventually. Fer now though, we better get started on the training again."

As Reisen clapped to gain their attention, the other devils glanced at Issei with a small bit of admiration. He was just so ecstatic. They couldn't help but feel as if the training from yesterday was almost impossible. Their spirit had been sapped from having their pride trampled on unintentionally by the Inaba Clinic team. But seeing the pervert whoop with excitement, it was almost infectious.

Nobody could deny that Oppai Spark, for all its stupidity in name, had the potential to be a dangerous attack. And they needed all the help they could get. It most likely wasn't intentional, but Issei had spread his optimism to them through his naming sense and his attitude. It was something they all needed at the moment. It gave them hope that they would pull through this borderline, sadistic training. They still had, from their knowledge, eight days of the same kind of training. Nobody sane would put themselves through that as most would prefer to build themselves up slowly to achieve the same results. It was reasonable to take the path of less pain. But it wasn't something they could do. They were forced to take the harder route, hoping they would pull through.

Issei's attitude just made it a bit easier for them to hope once more.

xXx

As the days rolled by, Rias and her peerage steadily progressed. Whereas a few solid hits would cause them to fold, they now took the brunt of it and continued fighting against the odds. Nobody could deny that the ludicrous training was effective in doing what it did. Not only did it push their endurance to the limits, but they had to stay vigilant from possible attacks on all sides. One decisive failure on a dodge or block could lead to a lengthy session of pain for their mistake as it easily led follow-up attacks. After suffering several of those, all of them had learned quickly to watch their surroundings carefully and to never let their guard down when outnumbered.

And after the end of the days, the entire peerage grouped together, asking whether or not it was okay to sleep for the next few days. At the end of one of them, some of them had gotten particularly discouraged. However, Issei refused to lose spirit in the face of it.

"Don't worry everyone!" He had shouted at the solemn dinner table when the Clinic team was off somewhere. "I know we can do it! We've come this far haven't we? We'll beat that yakitori bastard!"

Rias naturally followed up on it, inspiring the others to hold on just a little longer. The results would come. In fact, they already were. It had just been harder to realize when they kept suffering defeat against the same people.

Even the ever-stoic Koneko couldn't resist a small smile at the attempt to boost morale amongst themselves.

Issei became a consistent source of optimism, vying to keep the spirits of the peerage up against the upcoming adversities. In the near end of things, they had finally successfully adapted to the harsh method of training.

Finally, the second to last day of training had come and passed. That night, they were surprised to hear that they would not be training for the last day. Instead, they would be resting themselves for the Rating Game. When questioned, she answered that allowing the muscles to rest for a few hours to even a solid day allowed it to enter peak physical condition for the next day for a few moments. Thus on the final day, most of them had relegated themselves to simply sitting outside in the afternoon for fresh air.

"I hope I never have to go through something like that again." Issei remarked as he laid back on the grass. "This was the hardest thing I've ever done! Even harder than running away from the kendo club!"

"Even harder than the church?" Kiba pointed out off-handedly, sitting on the grass next to Issei as he grimaced at the memory.

"Well… that too. But I had you, Marisa-san, and Suika-san with me. You protected me against those guys. I was scared I was going to die there for sure when there was so many of those exorcists."

Kiba smile comfortingly. "Don't worry Issei. As a Gremory Knight, I won't allow our enemies to hurt us. You've improved a lot since then, haven't you?"

"Yeah!" Issei raised an enthusiastic arm into the air. "I hope this'll be enough. Last time, even that other pawn knocked me out in one hit. I won't let that happen again!"

"We've trained hard, haven't we?" Kiba questioned rhetorically. "What do you think, Koneko-san?"

The addressed person was snacking on a cookie that had been baked earlier. She gave a small hum in agreement.

"Issei-senpai has improved a lot." She noted, turning to the pervert. "He's very passionate."

He gave a wide grin at the compliment. "Of course! I won't be the weakest anymore!"

Koneko silently nodded in response while Issei noticed something.

"By the way, where's Akeno-san and Buchou? I know Asia's inside, but I thought they'd come relax with us since we finally have a day off."

"Buchou and Akeno are actually off with Reisen-san to see if they can plan some strategies for our Rating Game." Kiba replied, looking off into the distance at some of the numerous practice trees Issei destroyed. "We might be physically ready now, but we don't actually have a plan to fight them."

"Oh right. I almost forgot." Issei sadly stated. "I guess even though we've become a lot stronger, we still need to think of something on how to beat them. I thought we'd be fine now since we've trained so hard. Do you think we can win?"

Kiba gave a small hum, giving deep though to the Pawn's question. "To be honest, I'm still not sure. We stand a much better chance than before. Only Buchou and Akeno would have been fine against Riser's peerage before our trip. I think now we'll be a bigger match for them."

"Riser." Koneko pointed out.

"Yes. Even if we defeat his peerage, we'll still need to beat him. Right now, you're the only one with an attack strong enough to take him out. If you get retired or you get too tired to do it, we might still lose."

Issei sighed in defeat. "So it comes down to me. Suika-san and Marisa-san said that I last a lot longer and fight better now even when I'm boosted all the way up, but I still can't do an Oppai Spark as big as hers. I don't know if it'll work and it still tires me out so much."

Koneko glowered at him for the perverted attack. Kiba simply smiled, amused still at the name.

"From what we saw, most of us think it's enough. None of us have any attacks that destructive, except for maybe Buchou, but it's because of her type of magic."

Issei nodded. "I saw. The red wave of magic right? How could anyone survive something like that?"

"Maybe you should turn that question around at yourself." Kiba chuckled. "Either way, we saw it multiple times during training. It can be blocked with obstacles or dodged. For Riser, it's because as a Phenex, he has very high regeneration so wounding him almost doesn't do anything. I heard that it still saps his energy to regenerate, but he can keep doing it until we lose."

"And that's why Oppai Spark will take him out in one hit right? Wouldn't it just be better to just rush for him right away and take him out so we win?" Issei asked, randomly throwing out a strategy.

Koneko shook her head. "Peerage will protect him. You won't have time to Boost and power up."

"The moment they see you charging up something, they're sure to try and stop you. You'll be interrupted and they already outnumber us so we can't just stay still."

Issei sighed at his tactic being so easily picked apart, scratching his head. "This Rating Game is really hard. Guess that's why Buchou and Akeno-san need to think of something for us with Reisen-san to win."

"Speaking of them…" Kiba began, hand under chin as he thought of something interesting. "Don't you find it strange on how easy Marisa-san and Suika-san took it on us? I've never seen them use any of their techniques from the church. Unless Suika-san doesn't have any."

"Huh?" Issei looked puzzled for a second as he tried to remember. "Oh yeah… I remember Marisa-san shooting a small laser once when she saved me. I never saw her use it again though. I guess it is kind of weird."

"They're strong. Too strong." Koneko commented, voicing out Kiba's thoughts verbally. "Suspicious."

"We only hit Marisa-san a couple times, and I saw her wounded when we did." Kiba added. "But not Suika-san. Nothing worked on her at all."

Issei gave it some more thought before something stood out to him. "Oh yeah. We were getting beat up so much I forgot. But even when I boosted up all the way, Suika-san just shrugged it off. My hand really hurt after that! Yesterday too still, when we were stronger!"

"Koneko-san as well. She's a rook, but it didn't do anything to Suika-san still." Kiba pointed out, "I've been trying to make the sturdiest swords I could too, but they still broke in half against her skin when I slashed at her during training. Buchou and Akeno hit her a few times with their magic and I saw them knock her away, but I didn't see any injuries. Just her torn pink blouse."

It was suspicious. She looked so young, though from how she talked, the three of them knew that she was older than she appeared. Who was she really? Marisa Kirisame was obviously human, being so easily injured. But Suika Ibuki retained no injuries despite being struck several times when the opportunity arose. They had learned to avoid her the majority of the time as nothing worked on her anyway, but they still sometimes instinctively struck back when she got too close.

 **"** **She's not a human, devil, angel, or fallen angel."**

Issei instinctively turned to his untransformed left arm.

 **"** **I know you said you wouldn't ask them, but that doesn't mean you can't come to your own conclusions."**

"Issei-kun?" Kiba regained his attention. "Is something wrong?"

Issei waved it off dismissively. "Nah. Nothing like that. Just Ddraig talking to me again."

"Oh right. You mentioned that a few days ago." Kiba recalled. "I didn't think a Sacred Gear could talk to its wielder though, so I was surprised to hear it could."

 **"** **Hmph. Those other Sacred Gears are nothing compared to me. I'm the Great Welsh, the Red Dragon Emperor! In the face of my power, nothing can stop me!"**

Issei managed to restrain the comment that would have mentioned that Ddraig was a Sacred Gear himself.

"He doesn't want to talk to anybody else except me though. But Ddraig, if Suika-san isn't any of them, then what is she?"

 **"** **There is more inhabiting this world than you think. What I just listed is paltry. Vampires, dhampirs, even other dragons exist. None of you have just figured it out yet, Partner."**

"Well, do you know then Ddraig?"

 **"** **I have my suspicions, but I can't confirm anything."**

In other words, Issei thought, Ddraig didn't know either. He didn't think the sealed, prideful dragon would enjoy hearing that though.

"Well, they've helped us a lot. I think we should just let it rest. Besides, will this really matter when we face the yakitori bastard?" Issei questioned, frowning at doubting whom he considered a good acquaintance.

Kiba paused momentarily before shaking his head in denial. "No. I guess you're right. None of this really matters in the end before we face Riser."

"Exactly. But I do have a new move I created just for this!" Issei declared proudly, hand beating his chest once with pride.

Kiba and Koneko both raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"A new move? Like your Oppai Spark?"

"No." Issei denied at first. "Even better than Oppai Spark!"

Something even better than Oppai Spark? It seemed tough already to top anything that Marisa's taught move could do.

"I can use it on one or even lots of people! Trust me, it works great! I've been working with Asia on it secretly for the past few nights when everyone was asleep!" He explained, grinning all the while as Kiba and Koneko looked at him with impressed faces.

"I didn't know you had something like this at all. Could you show us?" Kiba asked, but Issei quickly shook his head.

"Sorry, it's a surprise. I want to show it off in the Rating Game! It's so deadly, everybody won't be able to move!" He proclaimed, fist tightening in sheer anticipation at performing his deadly technique.

"Then I suppose we'll be looking forward to it. Anything to help Buchou and win against Riser." Kiba chuckled, as he leaned back peacefully. Koneko sat next to baked goods in her hand, continuing to munch on them casually.

Issei looked back towards the vacation home however.

"I hope Buchou and Akeno-san are doing okay. Buchou has been kind of distant lately and they've been in there for a while…"

xXx

Tomorrow was the day of reckoning, Rias thought to herself. She currently sat in a chair around a circular table in another part of the vacation room. Seated next to her was her most trusted friend and Queen, Akeno Himejima. Across from her and the table was Reisen Udongein Inaba, the clinic doctor of the Inaba Clinic. Today, aside from sleeping, there would be no rest for her or her closest friend. She was glad that her beloved peerage could relax outside. They deserved all that and more. Now, it was her turn to make sure that the training wasn't wasted by formulating some plans for the Rating Game against Riser. Strategy and information went a very long way towards winning, she knew.

"To reiterate some of the information again, a Rating Game is a battle meant to simulate war between two opposing teams. During it, nobody is killed. When referees or the system deem members of a peerage unable to fight any more or in grave danger, then they are automatically retired by teleporting into a medical section. The best healers are always there to ensure that no permanent is done." Rias began, repeating some of the information that Akeno had told Reisen on the first day. "Each side has a base of operations where each team starts off. Normally, a Pawn can promote with a King's permission when fighting. In a Rating Game though, that's disabled. Instead, the Pawn of each peerage can Promote into any other piece except the King when they reach the opposing base."

"Similar to chess then, when they reach the opposing side." Reisen compared to which Rias nodded in confirmation.

"Exactly. Each side generally brings their full peerage to a Rating Game, whether or not it's complete. Kings can choose not to bring certain pieces, but most teams do."

Reisen gave no visible expression except for the neutral plastered on her face, analyzing the information given to her.

"But if I remember from what Akeno-san said, you only have four people and five if you include yourself. Riser has fifteen; sixteen if you include him." Reisen recalled as the Queen nodded in response.

"That's right. As a result, we're heavily outnumbered. On top of that, Riser has had experience in the Rating Games." Akeno added, further piling on the odds against them.

Reisen frowned, but didn't lose her composure. "How big is the experience gap between the two of you?"

The grimace in both of their unblemished faces told Reisen plenty.

"This is our first Rating Game." Rias started somewhat hesitantly. "Riser has had ten rating games. His current score last I checked was eight to two. The two losses however, were surrenders as a respectful gesture for his opponents."

Thinking about it all now, Rias began to realize just how stacked the odds were against her. Not only could she not receive help from any devils, due to Riser's declaration in favor of a fair fight, but his experience practically dwarfed hers. Despite her disliking most of his current traits, she had to give him credit. He was a true devil in the end, making sure that he had everything in his favor. Even the ten days he had given her, again, was nothing more than a way for her to cling to hope desperately before fully extinguishing every last bit of resistance she had left. To others inexperienced in the ways of politics, it was a symbol of fairness given to her from his 'infinite compassion and mercy.' If she failed, it would appear to others that she was simply too weak.

To those experienced in it however, it was a powerful move. Dangle something almost impossible to reach and watch them reach for it only to fail. It made a great showing of power, something devils valued highly.

"And you explained to me that before, only you and Akeno-san stood any chance of being able to fight Riser's peerage, right?" The Lunarian asked for confirmation to which both nodded to. "Unbelievable…"

"I'm sorry." Rias apologized sincerely. "It does look hopeless. Our politics as devils has always made things hard, especially for people who aren't used to it. I'm already grateful to you and your friends for the training. We've become so much stronger because of it. You don't have to stay any longer if you don't want to. You're not obligated to help me after all."

The lilac-haired girl shook her head. "I said we would help in the best way we could. It'd be impolite if we just left now. It's a hard situation to be sure, but I don't think it's a complete loss."

"Thank you. As one of the heirs of the 72 pillars of the Devil Clans, and as just Rias, I won't ever forget this." The crimson-haired devil openly and gratefully thanked.

The ebony-haired companion bowed respectfully. "Yes. We wouldn't have gotten this far without you. Anybody who can help my friend, I can respect. Thank you for helping us."

"Akeno…" Rias whispered in awe, though both people occupying the room heard her anyway.

Reisen hummed in order to grab their attention. "If you're going to win, then we'll need to know everything there is. If the Rating Game has two bases, there's an area where you'll be fighting. Do you have a clue where that'll be?"

Rias shook her head. "No. Every Rating Game fought has an area randomly assigned. There can be requests if there are some circumstances involved, but it's generally never done."

"So we don't know where you'll be fighting either…" Reisen murmured quietly, resisting the urge to grab her forehead at such overwhelming odds and the lack of information. "There's almost nothing I can give you except general advice for your current situation then as well as what I know at the moment."

"That's fine. Any little bit you can give us can help." Rias encouraged.

"Starting with being outnumbered first then. You and your peerage have improved drastically, but seeing as I don't know how strong Riser or his peerage is, I don't know if it's enough. There are a few important things to note, and a few strategies you can consider."

Reisen raised a finger, corresponding with the first tip she would give.

"The foremost important thing is to try and keep everyone alive. Losing even one person could be a massive loss. It can hurt morale and lead to even more losses because the people allocated to dealing with that person can help others. Then, it'll be a domino effect until everyone falls. There are a couple exceptions in which sacrificing someone can be considered, especially since it isn't a lethal fight. It has to be well worth the trade though, so be very careful on when you do this. I had to learn that the hard way."

Rias nodded grimly, absorbing the information given to her. She hoped it wouldn't come down to that, loathing the thought of losing anyone in her peerage, but kept it in mind for now. Reisen raised a second finger.

"Secondly, strategies. There are a few that I know that can be helpful. I'm not the best strategist or tactician, but I'm a servant and apprentice to someone who could be considered one. One of them, if you know the layout of an area, is to set out traps in a place where you know lots of enemy forces will be. You can ambush them there, or use it as a diversion while picking off other people."

Reisen raised a third finger.

"You could also send out a strike team to hunt for smaller groups or stray members and quickly take them out. Another team can be a decoy, or a distraction to hold out until your stronger team takes out as many people as you can before regrouping. Hit-and-run tactics essentially until you whittle them down."

Reisen raised a fourth finger.

"The last one is to sabotage them somehow. This one relies on the mind of an enemy commander and troops. You can find ways to give them bad information so that you force them to make certain decisions you can take advantage of. This can go in hand with the previous strategies. With hit-and-run tactics or good traps, you can make them paranoid to do anything while you regroup and formulate another plan."

Rias nodded again, taking in what the doctor was telling her. "All of this seems very difficult to do."

"It's a matter of knowing how skillful your opponents are and how much your own members can handle. The environment can play a tremendous part in various ways, but we don't have the luxury of knowing where you'll be fighting. In most cases, you don't want to be fighting in an open area where they can use superior numbers against you unless you have a trap planned."

And this was what separated her from Riser, Rias thought. He most likely knew all this. Knew that she would try everything she learned and knew to try and grab victory under him. Yet, whereas she had just learned it, he most likely knew it better from his own battle experience.

"Do you think you could use any of these in your Rating Game?" Reisen asked as Rias underwent deep thought at the various strategies handed to her.

"It's a very good start. If only we had time to practice what you told us, we could have had a better chance." Rias answered, cursing mentally the ten day time limit she had. "There's nothing we can do though."

Reisen nodded, lowering two of her fingers while holding up two. "Okay. Riser and his peerage is the only thing left I can think of now. You said none of you really exactly how powerful Riser's peerage was."

Akeno affirmed the statement. "Right. The only information we have on them is his Queen, Yubelluna and Riser himself. Yubelluna is known as the Bomb Queen, able to cause explosions with her magic from a distance. Riser has all the abilities of a Phoenix as I said on the first day."

"Instant regeneration and fire mastery." Reisen recalled, already very familiar with the powers of a Phoenix. "But Marisa already listed two ways to beat him. Kill him multiple times to the point where he runs out of stamina to fight, or defeat him with one attack. You have someone who can do one of those now."

"Issei." The Peerage's King needlessly said, though everyone at the table already knew it.

"Right." The Lunarian confirmed. "However, Marisa told me that he still can't use it to same level of power as she can and that it still tires him out. Be careful if you decide to use the latter method."

The two devils nodded wordlessly. It was essentially their trump card now. He was the perfect one to hold such a thing as well. Issei had been knocked unconscious in one attack by Riser's pawn. There was very little chance he would expect a trump card to come from a person he considered trash as a low-class devil and a weakling. Finally, something was going in their favor which was a method to defeat Riser. It wasn't guaranteed to work, but it was much better than having no definitive way to be able to beat him.

"Finally, the Bomb Queen," Reisen notified them. "Based on abilities alone, being able to get close to her would be ideal. She wouldn't want to blow herself up. Someone who could get in quickly as well would be a good idea. If she has to take time to cast her spell, then someone fast enough can easily evade her explosions. If she is capable of flight, it would make things more difficult but not impossible. Crippling her method of it would be a boon."

Rias already knew the ideal person for fighting her. However, Yubelluna was someone who preferred fighting in the air, much like herself and Akeno. Yuuto didn't fly very often, much less used it for fighting. She and Akeno would be at a disadvantage if they fought her. An explosion courtesy of her magic could happen anywhere in her line of sight. Both of their spells on the other hand, came as a projectile and therefore, could be dodged with retaliation being another explosion. But then again, all they needed to do was cripple her wings and Yuuto could take her own on the ground.

Her mind raced at the possibilities of taking down Riser's Queen. However, she had almost forgotten that diverting more than one person to fight someone wasn't a very likely possibility. She was already spread thin as it was.

"As you can see, experience can mean a lot in battles. Unfortunately, this is all I can offer you Rias-san. Everything else is in your hands now." Reisen finalized, standing up from her chair. "As today is the last day, the Inaba Clinic will officially leave the vacation home. We'll wait to hopefully hear of your victory. I don't think we'd be allowed as spectators, seeing as we're not devils."

"No. Unfortunately, you won't be allowed to watch our Rating Game. But…"

Rias gave a gracious countenance towards Reisen.

"Whether we win or lose tomorrow, we won't forget how you helped us. No matter how bleak it was, we actually have a chance now. Somehow, I'll repay you for your kindness."

"Don't worry about it." Reisen managed to resist performing Marisa's dismissive hand wave. "We helped you for our own reasons. We want to foster the tentative trust between us and this was an ideal opportunity. We do hope that you'll win though. You have good people with you."

"Right. That's why I can't fail them. If I lose, all of us will be forced to serve under Riser by extension because of my marriage to him. I won't let that happen to us." Rias declared with pride as Reisen hummed in approval.

"I'll go gather Marisa and Suika-san to leave. I hope you'll bring good news to us. You already know where we live."

And with that, Reisen left through the large double doors. It made a loud noise as she shut the doors and finally, only the two devils occupied the gathering room.

"Rias…" Akeno said worriedly.

"I'll be okay Akeno. I have a lot to think about. As my Queen and friend, you've been with me at every turn no matter what. Please, go ahead and take a rest with the others. You and everyone deserve it."

Her Queen frowned however and remained stationary.

"I can't Rias. What about you?"

"I'll be okay." She lied, though she knew her most trusted friend had seen through it.

None of them spoke for a while. Tension and silence reigned as the both of them were willing to give up on their desires. Akeno, wanting to attend to Rias as both her concerned friend and Queen. Rias, wanting to give the duly deserved reward to her peerage as well as seeking some time alone.

Eventually, Akeno caved in.

"I'll be outside with the others Rias. If you need me, please come to me." She stated as she left through the same double doors Reisen had earlier.

As her Queen left, with the same loud sound of the door shutting signifying it, Rias let out an exhausted sigh.

She looked out the window to see that the sun was beginning to set. No doubt her peerage would be physically ready for tomorrow. Dinner would be soon and she wouldn't miss that with her peerage.

"Buchou?"

A male voice broke her out her thoughts and she immediately turned the source of it.

"Issei? What are you doing here?"

"Aha well… I passed by Akeno-san on the way here and she said I should check up on you. I was worried about you anyway." He scratched his head sheepishly, a bit embarrassed at having to explain his reasoning.

Of course. If Akeno couldn't accompany and was worried about her, she'd asked someone else. She didn't necessarily state she wanted to be alone and seeing as she had already dismissed Akeno for a break, she sent Issei instead. She didn't know whether to feel exasperated at the devil-ish act she had performed, or flattered that her best friend obviously cared about her so.

"In that case, why don't you have a seat next to me?" She requested, patting an open spot next to her. Issei did just that as he pulled the chair from under the table and seated himself.

"Umm…" Issei began nervously, fidgeting a bit in his chair. "I wanted to say sorry."

"Hmm? What for?"

"I-I got us caught up in this right? The reason we're in this was because I attacked Riser isn't it?" Issei questioned as Rias was taken aback at the self-blame placed on himself. She shook her head.

"Don't be silly Issei. It was an arranged marriage between me and Riser. I was supposed to marry him after university, but I would have picked a fight with him sooner or later. It might as well have been sooner."

"But I saw and heard from everyone." Issei rebutted. "This is a fight we're not supposed to win right? This is supposed to be rigged against us."

Rias remained quiet for a while before solemnly nodding. "Yes. While you were unconscious after trying to attack him, he made several more conditions. Out of pride, I accepted it when I shouldn't have. It was stupid of me to. We were lucky that we got around one of the conditions, since the Inaba Clinic doesn't have any devils so we could actually get help in training."

"So what's wrong Buchou? We've trained so hard for this. We can't lose now." Issei tried to encourage her.

"I'm afraid that I've brought us into something we can't get out of. There's so many things going against us that you could say it was unfair. Nobody showed it, but I could tell most of them were discouraged throughout the trip. Demoralized after being beaten so badly over and over. I've had to stay strong for everybody so they at least knew that had someone to look up to and help them. Akeno did her best too."

Rias bit her lip. "But now I'm scared. Everyone has become stronger and I'm happy for them. The only part left is the strategy from me. Everyone is counting on me now to win this. There's so much at stake other than myself. I can't fail us. If I lose, you'll be forced to serve under Riser by extension of my marriage. That's not what I want for anyone. I'll lose my freedom. I don't know what I would do."

There was just so much pressure on her. Her impulsive decision to accept the Rating Game challenge was incredibly poor. She hadn't taken the time to think it over clearly and it had cost her and her peerage dearly. To take responsibility as the King, she had to be the pillar of support for her peerage. If the others saw her falter during their own weakest moments, then who else could they turn to?

"Buchou!" Issei almost shouted despite being indoors and put a rather forceful hand on her shoulder. "I know. I saw how everyone was getting depressed too, and I tried to help out. Nobody doubts you though still! I trust you! We all trust you no matter what and we all know that you love us like family. Akeno-san, Kiba, Koneko-chan, and I all know that. That's why you can share some of your burden with us too. You don't have to sit alone like this!"

Rias was stunned to hear such a thing from Issei and her face expressed it perfectly. He seemed astounded at his own words too.

"Eh? Umm… maybe that wasn't the right thing to say. But we know that you regret accepting that fight. That's why everyone is here to support you too. When you're sad too, you can talk to us. We're family, right?" He continued, speaking his words from pure instincts instead of thinking it though.

His King remained speechless at his declaration of support. She had to resist a tear coming out of her eye from the joy that rose up in her heart. Unable to hold it any longer, she stood up from her seat and hugged her pawn.

"B-Buchou!?"

His voice was muffled as she pulled him in deeper.

"Thank you Issei." She murmured as she held him tight, even pushing his head right into her bountiful breasts as she knew he liked. The moment he felt the object of his desire smoosh against his face, he made no further movement. He was simply too flabbergasted.

"You're right. I have you, my precious peerage and family. As long as I have you all, I'll fight for us until I can't anymore." She graciously thanked, laying her head on top of his. "I promise that I'll do my best to protect us all better in the future. I won't ever make the same stupid mistake without thinking things through."

Yes, that was a vow that she would uphold to the best of her ability. Some may have called her overprotective over those she cared for, but she saw it as a compliment. She didn't have to be alone in protecting them though, she realized. The ones she cared for would gladly help protect and support each other and her without even being asked. All it took was Issei telling her for her to know.

Tomorrow was the day of reckoning where everything would be decided. She intended to expend some extra hours alone that night to think up of every plan possible to defeat Riser. That plan was tossed out the window and mentally destroyed with her power of destruction. For now, she would explain her actions to her peerage. They would understand, if what Issei said was correct. And they would support her, even if what she made was a poor decision.

This was truly the best peerage she could have.

* * *

 **Beta: Lunar Wave**

 **A/N: Tah-dah! As of now, I have a new beta with the name displayed right there! Therefore, no more of the trashy mistakes that I made as a self-beta. A personal thanks goes to them for reading this monster of a chapter and going through it for mistakes. Sorry for taking so long to get this done. Reality had its way with me. You may interpret that however you like. Anyway, to pitifully make up for the long time of not uploading, this is my longest chapter yet (not including my one-shot). Hopefully, the quality of it suits the length. I could have make it longer, but I decided at one point that enough was enough. There should be a lot less errors now due to the story's new beta. If you haven't already, check out their stories. It's well worth a read.**

 **Anyway, I especially enjoyed being able to write up the demonstration of Master Spark. It's been one of the things that I wanted to write the most, especially since I think Issei is one of the best candidates to receive an attack like that. I'm still having a hard time writing in conversations with multiple people at once, but I hope that improves with time. As usual, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. See you next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Gremory vs. Phenex**

Rias looked upon her beloved peerage from behind her desk at the Occult Research Club, already mentally noting down what they were doing. Most of them were seated at the two couches next to the elegant coffee table. The only one not in her peerage was Asia Argento, who was seated next to Issei. No doubt it was to give her support to those whom she considered her friends.

Her faithful friend and Queen, Akeno Himejima, had a tray in hand passing out tea to each of the other members. They thanked her as they took slow sips to calm their nerves at the upcoming fight. Each member of her peerage Rias observed had their own habit. Issei kept glancing at his left arm, tightening his fist every once in a while. No doubt he was thinking about the Boosted Gear in some form or way.

Koneko held the same blank look as she always did. While her anxiety wasn't as obvious, it was still there. The repeated movements of tightening on her fingerless gloves certainly showed that.

Yuuto kept cleaning his sword even though with his Sacred Gear Sword Birth, there was really no need to. Why would he need maintenance when he could simply form another sword?

Once Akeno finished passing out the tea to everybody, including Asia, she walked back next to Rias' side, tray still held like an elegant server in a high-class restaurant. With her appearance, it certainly fit.

Rias took another sip of her warm tea. This really was the calm before the storm.

The dimly lit room, only brightened with tall candles, gave a rather homely atmosphere to her. Though humans would have considered the room dark, her devil eyes had no such weakness.

The sound of the double doors opening rang throughout the room as two familiar faces entered the Occult Research Club.

"Excuse us."

Rias smiled softly at the sight of her friend.

"Sona. Good evening."

"Kaichou? Fukukaichou?" Issei murmured softly. "What are they doing here?"

Sona and Tsubaki turned to him with an immediate answer. "We'll be one of the few spectators that will be watching this Rating Game. I'm sure you already know, but the game will be watched by several other Devil Pillar Clans."

Rias grimaced at hearing that. "Yes. They'll want to see me lose for defying old devil traditions. But I won't lose here. No matter what."

"It'll be your first Rating Game, Rias. Are you ready?" Sona asked somewhat aloofly, though the undercurrent of care for her friend was easily found for Rias.

"No." Rias stated honestly, much to Sona's surprise. "I don't know if I'll ever be ready. But I have to win."

Sona nodded. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be of much help to you. I will naturally be praying for your victory."

Rias waved off her concerns. "Of course. And I'll show you something that will make you feel worthy of being my rival."

Her peerage nodded confidently at her statement to which Sona noted. Before the Student Council President could begin leaving, a magic circle flashed in one of the corners of the Occult Research Club. The circle elevated, and an elegant maid revealed herself. The maid was beautiful, appearing to be in her twenties at the least. She had long, silver hair braided in three different areas. The biggest and longest one was in the back, while two smaller braids went down her shoulder. Topping it all off was her blue and white French maid outfit, complete with a white maid headband.

"Grayfia." Rias instinctively named her as the maid bowed politely, showing her service to her.

"Rias-sama. It's almost time." She declared.

"Thank you." The crimson-haired devil graciously thanked as she turned to the rest of her peerage who were beginning to stand up. "Everyone, let's go."

They moved towards the still flashing, magical circle in which Grayfia had come from. Sona remained on the sides, gazing upon each member of the peerage as they stepped into the circle. The exception was Asia who stood up, but stopped at the edge of it knowing that she could not be in the Rating Game.

"Argento-san." Grayfia called to her. "Rias-sama has asked for special permission to allow you to watch the game as a spectator. It has been granted. You will be joining Sona-sama in a spectating room."

Sona raised an interested eyebrow at that, but said nothing as she nodded her agreement to it.

"Thank you Grayfia-san." Asia bowed respectfully before turning to Rias' peerage. "Please win everybody! Do your best Issei-san!"

Each of them smiled kindly back to her at her support.

"Don't worry Asia! We'll win in no time and I'll come back to you safely!" Issei proclaimed confidently, left arm raised to his chest.

Asia's cheeks turned red and was unable to say anything more as Rias and her peerage were teleported to the battlefield, leaving only, Grayfia, Sona, and Tsubaki in the room. Grayfia entered the circle next, disappearing without another word after Rias. The teleportation circle then disappeared.

"Argento-san, please follow us to the Student Council Room. We will watch the game there." Sona instructed as she and Tsubaki began heading to the exit. Asia nodded and followed them, praying to God that Issei and the others would be able to come out on top.

xXx

Somehow, she was not surprised that this would be the area where they would be fighting.

"What? We're still in the Club?" Issei asked, confused at the seemingly similar appearance to that of where they were previously.

The same Victorian-era styled walls still surrounded them. The very same green, elegant couches they had just sat on remained the same. The same could be said for Rias' desk which she had just sat on only moments ago, as was the same double doors that led in and out of the Occult Research Club. Even the red, expensive carpet that all the expensive furniture was on was an accurate copy.

"No. The transfer was successful. The battlefield we'll be fighting is Kuoh Academy." Rias answered as her mind raced several miles a second at the consequences of fighting here.

She didn't think it was coincidence that Riser chose Kuoh Academy, the very place she attended school at, to be the Rating Game's battlefield. This would give her a supposed 'Home Field Advantage,' as she and her peerage knew the area much better than Riser. However, it was just another way to trap her in her honest opinion. Let her think that she held some more advantages, then sweep the victory from under her.

From a political point of a view, it was solid too. For anyone who didn't look much deeper beyond the surface, it was another show of mercy for her. If she lost, then it would be on her for being unable to win despite the slight show of compassion for her. For those who did, it was another show of power that he could still win despite giving her every advantage he could. No doubt the high-class devils were already discussing when the marriage date would be when she lost to Riser, who was obviously the favored one.

But this would be his mistake.

 **"Welcome all."**

Grayfia's voice reverberated throughout the entire clubhouse like high-quality loudspeakers littered throughout the school.

 **"To the competitors, we welcome the peerage of both Rias Gremory and Riser Phenex. To the spectators, we welcome you all to the Rating Game between Rias Gremory and Riser Phenex."**

That certainly confirmed for Rias that this would not be a private match at all like it was supposed to be.

 **"I am the servant of the Gremory Clan, Grayfia, and I will be the announcer for this Rating Game. The chosen battlefield will be a replica of the school that Rias-sama attends in the Human World, Kuoh Academy."**

"Replica?" Issei questioned.

"Issei-kun, we'll be fighting somewhere that looks like our school in a different dimension. Here, we can be as destructive as we want." Akeno explained as Issei nodded to show his understanding.

 **"To both parties. Where you were teleported to will be your respective sides. For Rias-sama, it will be the old school building where the Occult Research Club meets regularly. For Riser-sama, it will be in the Principal's office in the new school building. As per standard Rating Game rules, a pawn that reaches an opposing side will be able to promote to a piece they choose."**

That was a massive detriment to them, Rias thought. Whereas Issei was worth eight pawns, with little experience in actual combat outside of training, Riser's pawns were all worth one pawn with plenty of experience. Their worth as a queen would probably outstrip Issei due to his inexperience, on top of already outnumbering them.

"Everyone, please take these." Rias announced, handing each member of her peerage a small magical sphere no longer than a thumb. "It's a magical transmitter that'll allow us to communicate with each other in battle."

The sphere then floated into each of the member's ears, disappearing as it did so.

 **"The Rating Game will start in three minutes."**

"Everyone…" Rias gathered everyone's attention, looking at them kindly. "I know that we'll be fighting an uphill battle against Riser, but I have faith in all of you. He thinks that we'll be easy to beat. That's why we'll be fighting in Kuoh Academy, but we've trained hard for this and I know that we can win."

Everyone gazed at her with resolution in their eyes. All of them were prepared to sacrifice whatever it was to win.

Rias felt so proud of them.

"Issei. How was your progress with your Oppai Spark?" She asked, causing some sniggers from the room while Issei grinned.

"Marisa-san said that I can shoot it twice now before I get too tired. It isn't as big as hers, but she said it'd be good enough." He gave an encouraging thumbs-up to show that he was prepared.

"That's good." Rias smiled at the thought of finally having a firm trump card on her side. "But don't use it unless you absolutely need to. Riser will try to target you as soon as he sees you can do it so we can't win. We'll try and save it to end."

"Right! Got it!" The user of Boosted Gear to show that he understood.

Rias then turned to two other members of her peerage. "Kiba, Koneko. The plan for you two will be to keep as many of the stronger pieces away from our base as long as you can. If you can, try to take them out but prioritize your survival. I don't want to lose any of you."

"Yes." Both of them agreed while Rias turned to her Queen.

"Akeno, you're going to be setting up your most powerful spell to detonate our base."

At hearing such a thing, almost all the members of her peerage turned to her with slight skepticism. Akeno simply affirmed her agreement with a quick yes.

"Wait, Buchou. Why are we blowing up our base? I don't get it." Issei questioned as he scratched his head in confusion, trying to think of the reasons behind such a plan.

Rias' lips almost split into a full-on grin. She didn't however. She was much more elegant than that after all.

"If Riser believes he can win by outnumbering us, then he's in for a surprise. Reisen-san suggested that we use something as a trap and what better trap would there be than our own base?" She explained a part of her thought process as the others began understanding right away what she intended to do.

"Oh! I get it! We're going to trap them all in our base and take a lot of them out in one go!" Issei exclaimed, sounding much more excited now that it had been explained.

He punched a fist into the palm of his hand eagerly.

"We can definitely beat that yakitori bastard now! It's time to get revenge on him and save Buchou from this stupid marriage!"

Rias smiled in response. "Issei, don't forget. We have to wait for them to get to our base which means you and I will be fighting here. If any of them are pawns, they'll be promoted Queens for sure. We have to hold on for Akeno to finish her spell."

Despite the warning and overwhelming disadvantage, Issei looked undaunted at the task.

"Hmph, so what? We trained hard under Reisen-san, Suika-san, and Marisa-san! It was the hardest thing we ever did! At this point, we can do anything!" He declared proudly as others began giving encouraging smiles of their own.

Rias couldn't help but feel the anxiety in her chest settle a bit. The odds were again, definitely against them. Practically everybody expected her to lose in the end. It was moments like these that helped her face the oncoming storm in the form of a decisive Rating Game. She couldn't afford to fail now knowing that everyone had tried their best for her own sake.

"My beloved Peerage. Let's win this Rating Game and show everyone what we can do!" She declared with pride as the others followed along at her pace.

"Yeah!"

xXx

The Rating Game of Gremory vs. Phenex went under full swing. Riser's own peerage moved out like a torrent as they searched for Rias' peerage. To their surprise however, they found nobody.

"What is going on?" Xuelan, a Rook from Riser, asked to nobody in particular as the entered the large school gymnasium.

The gymnasium itself was massive. In one side of the room was a stage, complete with stage lights overhead and red curtains on the side. The sleek, wooden floor on the ground was impeccably clean as if a janitor had gone through every inch of it just hours earlier. It was enough that food could even be dropped on it and still be perfectly edible. The white walls indicated the boundaries of the gym and despite being easily stained, were just as clean as the floor. Three sets of double doors served as entrances to the gymnasium; one on each side that did not have the stage. White markings along the floor indicated a basketball court, though the hoops had not been set up. There was still easily enough room on the floor to have two, full-sized basketball courts. Windows near the roof of the gymnasium normally would have allowed the sun in, but none entered due to the nature of being an alternate dimension in the first place. The sky was an aurora.

"Where are they?" Shuriya questioned as well. "Riser-sama predicted that they would try and occupy the center of the map. Are they just giving it up?"

"How careless of them." The Chinese Rook criticized as she smirked. "Taking control of the center of the battlefield is crucial in war. Now we can assault their base freely."

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted someone with white hair attempting to hide near the stage. She immediately twisted her head to the rather small figure.

"Don't think you can escape my sight! Show yourself!" She shouted, pointing an accusatory finger towards her target.

Koneko revealed herself from the curtains of the stage alone.

"Hmph. So this place was defended after all." She corrected herself before turning to her three allies. "Shuriya, Ile, Nel. Go ahead and get to their base to promote. It's just one rook. I can handle her."

"Okay!" They shouted before turning to leave through the double doors of the gym.

Koneko leapt after them to stop their movements, but Xuelan immediately intercepted her.

"I don't think so. Rias-sama must have been foolish to think that she would only need one piece to take down four of us." Xuelan smirked, although there was no emotion on Koneko's face still.

"Xuelan. Even though you're a Rook, people say you're just as good as a Queen." Koneko commented as she raised her arms in preparation to fight her.

Xuelan huffed in pride. "That's right. And that's why you won't win against me."

Koneko chose to remain silent. Instead, she thrust herself forward fist first towards Riser's rook. Her punch was easily blocked with her arm. She counterattacked with several kicks that would have had any martial artist in awe. However, Koneko dodged by leaning her body back though she was forced back on the defensive. Xuelan pressed her offense by launching several more kicks towards Koneko's upper body. The latter blocked each one with her arm until Xuelan decided to mix it up.

She went in for a sweep kick.

Koneko leapt up to avoid it instinctively.

"Got you!" Xuelan declared as the sweep had been a trick.

She twisted her body around smoothly to launch another kick against Rias' rook who was now left vulnerable in the air. Unable to do much against it, she braced herself for the blow.

Xuelan smirked as a satisfying hit was finally dealt to Koneko. The latter was launched back through the air. The large sound of smacking against the wall reverberated throughout the gym, a small crack at the wall showing the amount of power Xuelan had.

Xuelan scoffed at her opponent.

This was too easy. There was really nothing to be worried about if this was all a specialized chess piece from Rias' peerage could muster up. She wasn't surprised in the least when Koneko stood up with little damage taken, as expected from the Rook's natural defense and durability.

As Xuelan prepared to taunt her opponent further, Koneko did something she didn't expect at all.

"Wait, you're running away!?" Xuelan shouted as Koneko was doing that just that.

The opposing rook ran in the direction of another set of double doors in the gymnasium. Xuelan followed her immediately as Koneko burst through the doors like a car crashing through the walls of a wooden house. There was no resistance to stop Koneko from escaping. Xuelan cursed to herself for allowing the opposing Rook to escape like that.

The opposing Rook raised a hand to her ear. "Everyone. Rias-sama's rook has just escaped from the gymnasium. I'm going to follow her."

"Understood. Mihae, Karlamine. Move to investigate where she's gone. We can use the open area to surround her easily. Xuelan, go ahead and pursue her. Siris and Isabella, go ahead and take Xuelan's spot at the gym. We'll keep hold of it for center field supremacy." A familiar voice commanded through the magical transmitter in her ear only a second later.

Xuelan smirked. With that, there was no way Koneko was going to escape being retired from the Rating Game.

"Understood Ravel-sama. We'll move out now." Several different voices spoke at once, affirming to her decision.

Xuelan on the other hand, immediately left through the same exit that Koneko had just left through.

As soon as she managed to reach the outside however, she felt lithe arms grabbing her from behind and a weight collapsing on her. Forced to the ground due to the weight and momentum of whatever had struck her, her arms were immediately pressed to the ground and her legs were sat upon. Movement restricted, she instantly realized what had happened.

"What!? You were still here!?" Xuelan shouted in surprise.

"You let your guard down." Koneko replied emotionlessly, although Xuelan could swear that she was smirking.

She struggled against the opposing rook's grip futilely. Her arms had been trapped to prevent her from using it. Her legs, while her main point, didn't have enough room to move to use an attack due to being put in an awkward position. The rook's traits ensured that Koneko's increased physical strength would keep her from moving anywhere. Xuelan eventually stopped moving, smiling as a realization came to her.

"You might have been able to stop me, but you can't do anything either. You're just holding me down and the others will come here soon. They're going to find you and there won't be anything you can do." Xuelan taunted, twisting her head halfway to Koneko to ensure the latter saw the smile.

Koneko remained indifferent at the statement. "Trap. Backup here."

Backup? What was she talking about?

"Good job Koneko-chan. I know Buchou said we should prioritize our survival, but we can't help it if we capture somebody right?" A male voice cut into the clearing.

Xuelan immediately turned her head roughly in the direction of it. From the woods surrounding the gymnasium, a blond boy emerged with a sword with a black blade. He looked handsome; a pretty boy look adorning him and Xuelan had no doubt that many girls had been infatuated with his appearance. A male school uniform adorned him, signs that what he wore meant he went to this school. His gray eyes looked into her own brown ones, almost looking amused at her situation.

She lost. Xuelan knew it, though she still sneered towards what was obviously the Knight.

Koneko gave a small hum in agreement.

"Who are you!?" Xuelan demanded, glaring at the obvious swordsman.

Internally, she cursed as well. Of course, the rook would have somebody to help her. She was outplayed like a fool and now she was going to pay for it. She had underestimated them from the initial engagement.

"Yuuto Kiba. Knight of Gremory." He introduced himself politely, as he raised his sword, blade pointed towards the ground. "I'm sorry, Rook of Phenex. But your end is here."

He raised his sword, blade pointed towards the ground.

 **"Sword Birth!"** He announced as he stabbed his sword into the ground.

It did nothing at first, but Xuelan's eyes widened when blades of various size rose from the ground. They were emerging from the earth, and they coming in her direction.

"No!" She struggled even harder against Koneko's weight, but it served no purpose.

The blades moved closer to her. There was no escape.

"Gahhhhh!" She screamed in pain as she felt her becoming weightless. Her body was dissipating from her wounds.

Koneko leapt away at the very last second as the blades stabbed Xuelan's body all over. Despite her rook defense, it was unable to withstand the numerous injuries she suffered.

The last thing Xuelan saw as she was raised off the ground from the blades stabbing into her, was Koneko leaping to Kiba's side. The latter raised an open palm into the air, a clear indication of an attempt for a high-five which Koneko slowly accepted.

 **"Riser-sama's Rook has been retired."**

xXx

"What?" Issei questioned in response to the announcement. "What happened?"

Almost instantly, Rias raised a hand to her ear. "Yuuto. Koneko. Was that from the both of you?"

"Yes." Kiba's voice clarified over the magical radio. "Koneko managed to communicate with me to set up a trap for the enemy rook."

"I see. Good job, the both of you. Stay alert and don't let yourselves be retired. Keep the non-pawns distracted as long as you can."

"Yes." The both of them answered before no further voice came through the magical radio.

Issei turned to Rias who sighed after the information provided. "Buchou, what's wrong?"

She shook her head, raising a hand to her chin to think. "Nothing. I'm trying to think of what Riser will do with a retired Rook. Is he arrogant enough to continue with what he's doing? Or will he see that I have another trap planned? I don't know, but anticipating what people are going to do is much harder than I expected. I thought I knew him, but now I'm not sure what he'll do."

Issei shrugged. "I dunno Buchou. But-."

A pound at the door immediately cut off any attempt to say anything to her. The both of them immediately recognized what that pounding meant.

"They're here." Rias announced, standing up from her seat at the pristine, wooden desk. "Get ready Issei."

"Right!" He answered back, left hand transforming into the Boosted Gear.

A few more loud thumps reverberated throughout room as they came from the pounds at the double doors. The door was then busted down, unable to hold together any longer despite its quality making. It would have flown forward towards Rias, had it not hit something invisible and bounced back. There was a large group and in front were three people, two of them with turquoise hair and a yellow ribbon in it. The both of them held chainsaws, buzzing lightly for intimidation. They wore white t-shirts with blue accents, black shorts and leggings, and blue sneakers over their knee-high socks.

The third person simply wore a maid outfit in a black and white scheme without the long sleeves.

As the girls tried to flood the room, they found that some shimmering wall prohibited them from entering right away.

"A barrier?" The maid inquisitively asked, raising an eyebrow at Rias.

"We expected you, considering your numbers. You didn't think we'd let you promote to Queens so easily, did you?" Rias countered, flipping her hair back elegantly. "It was made by my Queen before she left. Even if you outnumber us here four to one, it'll take you some time to break through it."

The maid shook her head, chuckling. "And why would you have to stall us from becoming Queens? This match is futile, Rias-sama. Just surrender to Riser-sama. You only have three specialized pieces in comparison to our six now. Fourteen once we all promote. What makes you think you can win? We've won since the very beginning."

She snapped her finger and the two girls with the chainsaws began revving it up. The sound of machine buzzing loudly then filled the airs of room and Ile and Nel began laying the chainsaws against the barrier.

"Futile? Didn't you just lose one of your Rooks, despite outnumbering us?" Rias goaded with the truth as the maid flinched reactively.

"T-That was just a mistake on our part. We've regrouped now. There's no way you'll be able to catch us alone like that anymore." The maid countered, frowning at Rias for clinging onto the retirement of one of their pieces.

"Shuriya! No!" Someone from behind her shouted, though it was too late.

Rias raised an eyebrow of her own, smirking. "Oh? You have some loose lips there. I appreciate your information. I think I'll relay that to my peerage."

"Nice one Buchou!" Issei complimented happily as Rias raised an ear to her radio to signal everyone.

"Everyone, be careful. Riser's peerage has mostly regrouped now so there won't be any pick-off attempts." Rias notified, taking some cynical glee in watching Shuriya's realization of what she had done. "I may not be as great at battle tactics as Riser. I might not be a good manipulator for the standards of devils. However, I can still fish for things like this."

"Tch. I let my guard down." Shuriya stated. "I underestimated you, Rias-sama. I should have expected something like this from Riser-sama's bride-to-be. I won't make such a foolish mistake like this again."

She then turned to both Ile and Nel, whose chainsaws were still buzzing against the shimmering barrier that Akeno had set up.

"Up the power on those, both of you. We will win on Riser-sama's behalf." She commanded and the both of them acknowledged the order.

The both of them pulled the string in order to increase the strength and speed of their chainsaws. Sparks flew off from the clash of both barrier and chainsaw, and Rias could see that the former was beginning to give way under the pressure.

"Buchou. This is a good time, I think. They're all stuck at the door." Issei whispered to Rias, clenching his fist to show what he was talking about.

Rias shook her head and muttered back. "No Issei. We don't want to show that off until the Riser appears. I can buy Akeno some more time myself."

Issei nodded, unclenching his fist while Rias placed both her arms in front of her with palms open. A red magical circle formed in front of her, small at first before expanding to the size of herself. Black lightning, outlined in red, began crackling from it while an orb formed in the center of it. Like before, it was the size of a fist at most, before expanding to the same area of the magical circle.

"Why don't you go ahead and force the barrier down?" Rias provoked, smirking all the while at all of the opposing Pawns' predicament. "All of you should know of my Power of Destruction. Riser should have told you that. He'd have to be stupid otherwise and even if I don't like him at all, he's not that at least."

Instantly, both Ile and Nel became hesitant in continuing to rip down the barrier with their weapons. Shuriya raised an arm to stop the pressure on the obstacle leading into the club room.

"You thought this through Rias-sama. Riser-sama has chosen a worthy bride." Shuriya frowned again at the situation that they had been placed in. "However, we are all willing to sacrifice ourselves to win this match. A few casualties on our side to be expected, considering who you are, Rias-sama. Both of you, continue. "

Ile and Nel both nodded and continued tearing down the barrier again. Within seconds, the barrier started splitting apart like very durable wood. As the gap started becoming bigger, Rias let loose her gathered energy aimed towards it. Its movements like a snake ensured that it was hard to maneuver around and with the tight space Riser's pawns were in, the sound of sizzling was a good thing to hear for Rias. She had hit somebody in the narrow hallway leading to the club room.

"Ahhhhhh!"

The scream of pain brought a vindicated smile onto Rias' face. It didn't look like she retired somebody in the hit, but no doubt they were injured.

"Keep going!" Shuriya barked towards Ile and Nel. "The faster we get in, the faster we won't have to deal with being in this enclosed area!"

Rias quickly gathered her energy again for another attack. Just as the barrier was finally split apart, it was released.

"Look out!" Someone shouted.

The burst of magic ended up exploding against the frontline and another scream was heard.

"Aggggghhhhhh!"

 **"Riser-sama's pawn has been retired."**

"Issei! Hurry and block them!" Rias commanded.

"Right!" He immediately responded, running towards the entrance of the room to hold them off.

 **[Boost!]**

It would also prevent Riser's pawns from flooding the room too much as the Issei became the barrier to overcome. Due to being forced within melee range, Issei managed to play to his newly found advantages Rias knew. Boosted Gear didn't have any ranged capabilities from what she could see. Issei would be forced to fight at close range which was being taken care of due to being needed to be taken care of to enter the room and promoting to Queens.

They'd have to throw themselves at him to beat him.

"My staff! It broke!" Someone shouted whom Rias noted as a pawn that had previously taken out Issei in one blow. That was a week and a half ago.

How the tables had turned now.

While Issei suffered the disadvantage of there being two against one, due to the size of the double doors, it wasn't really a factor. Issei was doing just fine. No doubt it was from the training of being forced to fight while being outnumbered. With only two people to take him on, Issei could hold out for a while. All they really needed to do was to wait for Akeno to signal that she was ready.

Despite the limited room, Issei did well for himself. He ducked under a clawed swing swiftly. His counter was quick.

"Gurgh!"

A grunt of pain was obvious as Rias saw Issei punch somebody square in the stomach. They retreated and had someone else take their spot to try their luck.

"Ow!" The replacement struck him in the face with the intention of pushing him back. He held his ground however, though his hand instinctively rose to tend the pain.

Another swing at him was attempted. Another attempt to knock him back away from the doorway for more room.

He recovered quickly though and dodged just in time. Retribution came in the form of his arm, not transformed into his Boosted Gear.

"You'll have to do better than that!" He taunted.

He blocked an overhead strike with his draconic gauntlet. Retaliation came in the form of a kick to the abdomen.

"Buchou. It's set up. I'm waiting for the both of you to leave."

Speak of the devil, literally.

"Issei! Clear the way!" Rias ordered, raising her arms for another quick spell.

He looked back at her quickly and upon seeing what she was doing, he nodded. He leapt back immediately, landing upon and smashing the coffee table the two expensive couches were next to.

Rias gave no care as she launched her spell towards the doorway and by extension, Riser's pawns.

One of them raised a barrier in time however and the spell clashed against it. The black magic, outlined in red exploded against it; a massive amount of smoke began flooding the area.

"I can't see!" One of them shouted.

"Let's go." Rias told Issei as he nodded.

Rias wasted no time turning towards the large window that led outside. She moved to open it, parting them to the side and revealing her devil wings. She stepped on the window sill and leapt out, taking to the air. She flew some distance away before taking a quick glance behind her. When she didn't find Issei behind her, she turned towards the ground.

She sighed in relief.

"He's okay. I almost forgot Issei can't fly properly." Rias thought to herself.

After deeming the distance she had safe, she raised her hand towards her ear. "Now Akeno!"

"Yes Buchou."

Rias turned around to look at the Occult Research Club building. An enormous, yellow magical circle formed above the base of Rias' peerage, slightly bigger than the entire building. Black clouds formed above the circle, thunder crackling above it. Then, a giant bolt of thunder came rushing down. As it went through the magical circle, its size grew bigger for an instant before crashing right into the building.

It promptly exploded. Practically nothing useful was left in the wake of it. Some bottom foundations of the building remained as the rest was disintegrated. Huge plumes of black smoke rose upwards while the base was laid bare. Only wooden, charred remains of furniture survived, albeit barely.

There were no bodies left in the blast.

 **"Riser-sama's remaining seven pawns have all been retired."**

xXx

"A very unorthodox move. It's paid off well Rias." Sona commented as the display in the air showed what had just happened. "In one fell swoop, she has just taken out one of the biggest disadvantages in being outnumbered in terms of pawns."

"I don't get it." Asia said. "Wouldn't most people want to protect their base?"

Tsubaki decided to answer in the place of her king.

"Generally yes. As most bases serve as natural fortresses and regrouping areas, many teams would encourage defending it as long as possible. Even facing against outnumbered opponents, teams attempting to take down a fortified base would require numerous resources and even sacrifices."

"Oh. I see." Asia nodded, turning back to the screen in the air.

"However, Rias decided to use her base as a trap instead." Sona added on to Tsubaki's explanation. "Most likely, she anticipated that Riser would attempt to press his advantage by making his weaker pieces even stronger to seal his victory. With how few pieces Rias has, it's not a bad move. However, he committed too many of his pawns doing so and he's paid the price for it. Had he just sent a few considering Rias' lack of pieces, the loss wouldn't have been devastating."

"Oh. So it's like a gamble?" Asia asked, trying to confirm the right answer.

Sona nodded. "Yes. That's a good word for it. Rias' trap was a gamble. If they had just taken only a few pawns, it wouldn't have been worth blowing up her own base. That's also taking into account that Riser's pawns can no longer promote from a destroyed base. They'd still be too outnumbered and separated, making it even worse for her. However, it was a resounding success instead."

"Amazing… Rias-san is amazing!" Asia complimented cheerfully, hope filling her heart for Rias' victory.

"But." Sona interjected. "There's no way Riser will take this lying down. He still has six pieces including himself against Rias' four. That's still not ideal and Rias' power hasn't grown strong enough to consistently drain Riser's energy from regeneration. As long as she can't do that, she won't win."

Asia clasped her hands together in prayer. "God. I know Issei-san is a devil, but please grant him your blessings. He's a good devil."

xXx

"Somehow, I feel as if I've avoided something bad." Issei muttered to himself, a shiver running down his back.

Rias from next to him, reached up to her ear again. "Everyone, the plan was a success! We're going to need a new base since we can't use our clubhouse. We're going to regroup at the gymnasium and use that to press our attack."

"Yes!" A consented agreement came through the radio.

"Be safe everyone!" She concluded before disabling the communicating device for the meantime.

"The gym, Buchou?" Issei questioned.

Rias nodded. "Yes. While Riser tries to get his own pieces together, we can try and establish our position at the center of the Kuoh. If they try to siege us there, we can use the gymnasium like a fortress."

"Oh okay! I get it!" Issei replied, smiling at the explained tactics. "Let's go then!"

With that, they began moving in the direction of the gymnasium. With knowledge of the areas of the school, it was easy to navigate through the woods that was set between the clubhouse and the rest of Kuoh Academy. Rias decided to take to the air again while Issei decided to run through the woods.

'We're going to win this.' Issei thought to himself, his mind racing and his heart pumping with slight adrenaline.

A slight buzzing in his ear indicated the radio was going to be used.

"Buchou! It was a trap! The rest of Riser's peerage is here in the gym! Only the Queen isn't here!" Kiba declared over the radio as the sound of metal clashing rang out.

"What? How did they know?" Rias' voice came over the radio, shock clear in it. "Can you guys retreat?"

"We can't. Koneko and I are surrounded by five of them. They have somebody here that's leading them. They figured that you would try and regroup somewhere and that this would be it."

"We're all on our way. Hold on a little longer Yuuto, Koneko." Rias' immediately responded. "If we arrive, it'll be an even fight."

"Hold on you damn handsome! We're on our way! Besides, this is the perfect time to use my new move!" Issei tacked on before any more discussion could be held.

There was another moment of waiting. Issei assumed that it was because Kiba was still fighting, but his voice came through again.

"You did mention this before. It would be a good time to use it."

"Don't worry. It'll work. Trust me." Issei replied, his run speeding up towards the gym as it began entering his sight.

As he got closer, both Akeno and Rias descended down towards the gym doors and entered without any hesitation. Only seconds later, he entered the gym himself.

It was chaotic to say the least.

Kiba had his blade locked in a hold against a swordswoman. Spikes of ice shot up from the ground in his direction. He broke the lock just in time to take a jump back before he was impaled.

Koneko was in a brawl against another Rook that appeared to be engaging in fisticuffs against her. As her attention was diverted, another swordswoman was clearly trying to get in strikes when she could. It looked to be mildly successful from what he could see as there were some cuts in her uniform, as well as some bleeding.

"They're here! Karlamine! Break off from the Knight and go for Rias-sama!" Someone in the distance shouted. "Isabela, do your best to keep their Knight tied up. Siris, hold off the Pawn and their Rook. Mihae, you do the same with their Queen!"

With a collective agreement from them vocally, they split away to their designated opponents. Immediately, one of the swordswomen lunged at him with a sword.

"Whoa!" He instinctively shouted, also raising his gauntlet to take the blow.

It was successful.

The swordswoman who he assumed was Siris looked surprise to see such a sturdy thing take on her sword. Koneko took the opportunity to leap in for a straight punch. It was quickly evaded.

Without even hesitating, Siris leapt back into the fray right for Koneko.

A bit surprised at the sudden shift of targets, she prepared herself for another round of speedy attacks.

The situation was perfect for him.

"Koneko! Hold her off! I'm going to power up a little bit and use it!" He announced, raising up the Boosted Gear.

Koneko gave a nod. "Okay."

 **[Boost!]**

"I won't let you!" Siris declared, redirecting her target towards Issei.

Koneko intervened in yet again. She went for a spin kick which actually struck the opposing Knight and knocked her back.

"I won't let you." She stated, though much more calm than the sword user.

"Thanks Koneko-chan!" Issei graciously thanked.

Siris continued her attempts to stop him from boosting himself. However, Koneko remained an obstacle despite the Knight's superior speed. Koneko didn't need to move much as Siris had to make much of the effort to close the gap and reach Issei.

 **[Boost!]**

'Boost three. One or two more should be enough.' Issei thought to himself, feeling his body becoming slightly heavier. At the same time, power was throbbing within him.

Koneko was doing a very good job defending him from the speedy knight. He was still untouched.

 **[Boost!]**

"Koneko, this is good! Step back!" He yelled out.

Koneko leapt back from the middle of her battle with Siris, landing behind him.

"Okay."

With the rush of power thanks to the Boosts he had done, Issei sped towards the opponent assigned to hold him off.

"F-Fast!" She cried out, trying to raise her sword in time to counterattack.

However, she quickly figured out that Issei was too quick for her and braced herself instead. To her surprise, there was no pain as all Issei did was tap her on her arm. Just as he did, a red mark resembling a spinning circle appeared. As she swung her sword at him, he deftly ducked under it and kicked her away. As she tumbled on the floor, he turned towards the other opponents his allies were fighting.

"Kiba. Hold on!" He called out again, moving in with his quick speed to tap his opponent on the arm as well.

The exact same mark appeared on her arm and Issei caught it as she tried to punch him. He used her as a boost to kick off from and moved towards Rias' opponent.

The same occurred to hers as well. He evaded their attacks just as easily, performing the same feat to Akeno's opponent. The only one left untouched was the young looking girl with the pink dress and long blond hair, curled up into pigtails.

"I'm ready! Get back guys!" Issei shouted.

The others looked to him with trust and promptly got back from their opponents, regrouping next to him.

"Here we go!" Issei raised his untransformed arm into the air and snapped his fingers together. "Dress Break!"

The red marks that had been planted upon the four opposing females began lighting up brightly.

All of their clothes were torn apart.

Everybody struck by Dress Break also began screaming in embarrassment as they tried to cover their womanly assets.

"Ha! I got them all!" Issei shouted in triumph, looking at each naked figure with clear perversion. "I'm going to save this into my brain permanently!"

Before he could finish doing so however, a small fist planted itself into his gut mercilessly.

As a result, Issei gasped in pain as he fell to the ground onto his knees and weakly looked at the perpetrator.

"Koneko-chan… why?"

She glared at him with disgust in her eyes. "You pervert. I thought I was helping you with a move to take them all out."

"I-I was!" He coughed out a weak protest, the pain in his stomach still ebbing heavily. "I tear all of their clothes off, and then while they're embarrassed, we move in and beat them. It works, right?"

"Surprisingly, that does hold some logic." Kiba commented before looking to their opponents and bowing. "I apologize that our Pawn is such a pervert. This is the very first time we've seen this technique as well."

"Hey! Don't apologize to them like that!" Issei tried to dispute as the remainder of his various allies looked at him with varying reactions.

"Issei…" Rias sighed in shame.

"Oh my, Issei-kun. This was the technique you learned with Asia-chan? I wonder how she felt when you practiced it with her." Akeno chuckled as she imagined just what the nun went through.

"It's a terrifying trick to all women." The blonde at the very back who was giving the orders managed to regain her composure. "But either way, we're lucky then."

Rias turned to the blonde, suspicion in her eyes. "Lucky. What do you mean?"

"I thought that the move he performed was going to be a finisher and our plan would fall apart. Instead, it's given us more time." She revealed as she turned to her own allies. "Everyone, it's time! Grab as many of them as you can and don't let them move!"

The naked women all turned to her to nod. "Yes, Ravel-sama."

They each moved towards their opponents again, though Rias' opponent deviated off in Issei's direction instead.

"Wait. Where's the Queen, Yubelluna?" Rias asked, looking around for her with fervor before realization struck her. "She's not here! It's a trap!"

Her entire peerage's eyes widened in surprise.

"And you've fallen right into it. Grab them! Hurry!" The now named Ravel ordered as each person threw themselves towards whoever they believed they could grab.

Kiba slashed at the naked swordswoman from earlier who leapt at him. It was successful, promptly causing her to bleed. However, she still managed to grab onto his smaller form and tightened her grip around him. He struggled against it, slashing at her as well and causing further wounds though it did nothing to inhibit her hold.

The Rook from earlier who was fighting with her bare fists latched onto Koneko with bigger frame. It was practically a tackle as her entire weight was thrown onto Koneko. With the Rook traits up against each other equally, it turned into a disadvantage for Koneko as Isabela held onto her tightly. Koneko struggled, but it was futile.

"Run! Hurry everybody! Get to the exit!" Rias shouted in panic.

One of the naked girls leapt towards Rias. However, she managed to fend her off in time with her magic, knocking her back along the floor.

Issei however, looked torn in running to save his life and trying to get the sacrificial pieces off of his allies.

"Issei-kun! Leave us behind! Hurry!" Kiba shouted, looking back at him momentarily before trying to hack away at the naked girl.

"I-I can't…" Issei said quietly. "Friends… don't leave other friends behind!"

"Issei-kun!" Akeno shouted, trying to get his attention yet failing. "I'm very sorry!"

She revealed her devil wings and flew straight for Issei. The last naked girl tried to grab him, but Akeno grabbed Issei first and began flying straight towards a set of double doors as fast as she could.

"Wait! We can't leave them behind!" He tried to protest, struggling against Akeno's grip vainly.

Just as they broke through the exit, the gymnasium detonated. The force of it sent both Akeno and Issei away from the bombed area and onto a track field. They tumbled along the ground separately as Akeno was unable to hold onto Issei any longer due to the blast.

Issei managed to get up quickly, despite the fresh burn wounds on his back.

"Koneko-chan! Kiba!" He shouted, rushing back to the front of the smoking building.

 **"Riser-sama's Bishop, two Knights, and last Rook has been retired. Rias-sama's lone Rook and Knight have been retired."**

"Issei!" Rias cried out behind him. "Please! They've been retired, not killed. It's a Rating Game. They won't be killed in it."

Issei stopped in his tracks, though he still snarled at the thought of seeing what appeared to be Kiba and Koneko's deaths.

"R-Right. They were teleported out to safety. I remember…" He tried to reassure himself. "Sorry Buchou. I was close to losing Asia once. I don't want to lose anybody else like that again."

"I understand. It looks like they died, but they're out." Rias spoke. "I didn't want them to be retired. But I promise, we'll see them again."

She turned towards the smoking building. "I didn't think they'd use the same thing we did though. Pragmatically, we got more out of it in terms of pieces, but it still feels wrong to have let them go like that."

"Of course you didn't see it coming. We got the idea from you and Rias-sama didn't expect that we would use the same thing you did to us." A voice came from inside the building as Rias and the remainders of her peerage turned to her in surprise.

"Wait, how're you still here? We saw you get blown up with everybody too!" Issei shouted, looking at the blonde, pigtailed girl who remained unmarred.

"Oh? Didn't you know my full name? I'm Ravel Phenex. The Bishop of Riser Phenex. I'm his younger sister." She introduced herself formally, even bowing politely. "I'm not a fighter though, so you don't have to worry about me doing any more harm to you. I'm a strategist."

Issei grit his teeth in anger, now realizing why she had survived. She was a Phenex, and that meant very powerful regeneration if what Rias said was true. Now he further understood why his Oppai Spark was going to be needed to win against Riser.

"I see. That makes sense." Akeno commented from behind him. "However, if you don't fight, then that just leaves Yubelluna the Queen and Riser. You're outnumbered."

Ravel scoffed. "They don't need my instructions to win. My brother can fend for himself and Yubelluna is our Queen. If you had your Rook and Knight, it might have been possible to win. However, you're down to just three slightly worn out while we haven't been involved in battle at all. Your stamina has dwindled down as I planned."

"And that's why you will be marrying me, Rias." A loud male voice cut in from above. "My sister is a good strategist after all."

Attention from everybody was turned to him as what was clearly a man descended from the air slowly. Wings of fire kept him afloat as he drifted down onto the ground on his feet. Issei took note of his arrogant appearance once more. Short blonde hair and dark blue eyes adorned his face that didn't appear any older than twenty. His attire consisted of a burgundy blazer with gold embroidery on his right side. Matching pants and black dress shoes were also worn to suit the colors he wore. Underneath his blazer was a white dress shirt that was buttoned up, although the top one remained unbuttoned which gave a slight view to his chest.

"Riser." Rias scowled, looking at him with contempt in her eyes. "So you decided to reveal yourself after all."

He bowed elegantly, a smirk plastered on his face throughout it all. "But of course Rias. It would only be fitting if you fell in battle against me before having to marry me."

Riser then snapped his finger, eyes closed confidently as if nothing would touch him in the midst of it.

"Yubelluna." He called out.

"Yes."

Just as Riser did earlier, she descended from the aurora sky. Instead of fiery wings like Riser, she was kept afloat with devil wings.

Issei's eyes almost popped out. She was busty to say the least. Yubelluna had long, wavy purple hair that fell all the way down her back along with similar eyes. On the right side, her hair covered her eye while the left side stopped just above her pale blue skirt. She wore a navy blue tunic top with gold accentuations similar to Riser. The blue skirt parted slightly to the side, revealing some thigh. Black shoes fit with her matching thigh-high stockings with garterbelts. A white overcoat was draped on her as well, giving her a somewhat regal appearance yet seductive. Numerous accessories were also worn, including a gold choker, a black headband with an orange jewel in the center and purple lipstick.

"I will give you an opportunity to surrender Rias, to keep your dignity." Riser offered, his leer almost infuriating Rias. "Your Queen is equal to my Queen. However, we both know that you can't match up to me. Your Pawn may be the Red Dragon Emperor with the Boosted Gear, but he was taken out in one hit last time with my weakest Pawn. You don't have a chance."

"We'll see about that, Riser." Rias countered, narrowing her eyes at him. "We've done a lot in ten days. You'll see just how much we've improved."

Riser laughed boisterously as if he had just heard a joke. "Ten days Rias? That's because I allowed you those ten days. You were already weaker than me. Not even your peerage could stand up us until recently. To close the gap between us in just ten days would be too much, even for you."

"Besides…" Riser raised an open palm into the air, forming a flame into his hand before crushing it into specks of ember. "It was just to crush your hope, among many other things politically. Newer devils will always sympathize with you, so I have to show as much mercy as possible. Older devils know that what I've given you is just enough to make a difference, but not enough to have you win."

"Shut up!" Rias shouted, immediately calling her power and sending it flying towards Riser's legs.

Yubelluna moved to intercept, but a raised hand from Riser stopped her as he stood to take the brunt of Rias' attack. His entire left leg along with his pants was completely taken apart, disappearing as if it never existed though Riser managed to keep his balance.

Issei saw Rias smirk at the obvious missing limb that Riser had, but it was quickly replaced with a grim countenance as fire began forming upon the area where Riser's leg had just been. It quickly began reforming and within seconds, the left leg was back as if it had never been touched. Clothing included.

"Do you see Rias? It'll be my regeneration against your magic. That attack had quite a bit of force in it too. You can't keep it up forever." Riser mocked, dusting his pants off as if there were some dirt on his recently regenerated leg.

"Then I'll keep fighting you with everything I have until either you lose, or I collapse." Rias responded with a black wave of energy circling around her. "Why don't we make like it this then?"

Riser cocked an interested eyebrow. "Oh? And what do you have in mind?"

"It'll be my Queen, Akeno against yours, Yubelluna." Rias declared. "And for us, it'll be Issei and myself against you. If we can't stand up to you, then this shouldn't be a problem right?"

"Duels then." Riser simplified, giving it some thought with a hum. "Well, I'm interested in how far you've progressed. You've already done much better than I expected and I do want to see more from you before I defeat you. Our two queens can have their fight then. I accept."

Rias nodded and turned towards Akeno. "Akeno."

"Yes, Rias?" She smiled, already seemingly knowing what she was going to ask.

"I'm asking a lot from you, I know. You don't have to win against Yubelluna. I have confidence in you, but it's not likely you'll win. Just keep her occupied for as long as you can until Issei and I beat Riser." Rias told her, smiling sadly at having to leave Akeno to take on grim circumstances.

Akeno bowed her head respectfully. "I understand Rias. It's okay."

She placed a comforting arm on Rias' shoulder.

"Win for us. For Yuuto and Koneko." Akeno stated before turning towards Issei. "You too, Issei-kun. You know what to do."

Issei nodded, raising his gauntleted arm confidently. "Don't worry Akeno-san! We're going to win this once and for all and get Buchou out of her marriage! Leave it to us!"

Akeno nodded as well, smiling at his determination to win. She revealed her devil wings, rising into the air as did Yubelluna.

"Shall we take this somewhere else?" Yubelluna asked, smirking all the while.

"Yes. Why don't we?" Akeno agreed and the two Queens began flying away in the direction of the main school building of Kuoh Academy.

"Now then…" Riser clapped twice. "Why don't we start this battle? Since it's two against one, I'll go first."

He waved his hand across his chest and fire formed instantly. In less than a second, the same phoenix fire blazed towards Rias who instinctively raised her arms in protection.

"Issei, get behind me!" She quickly commanded, forming a protective, red magical circle for the fire to crash against.

He did just that, leaping behind Rias as phoenix flames broke upon Rias' barrier like ocean water against rock. The fierce clash caused the wind to pick up from the blast, whipping around Rias' hair wildly.

 **[Boost!]**

The pressure on Issei's body rose exponentially as he began to sweat from it. He could feel his power rising, but the strain his body was under was beginning to make him a bit uncomfortable like a knot in his stomach

 **"That's five Boosts. You can handle about three more before you hit your limit. Even then, you won't be able to remain in that state for long. Make sure you don't miss."**

Issei didn't say anything to refute against Ddraig's blunt statement.

Eventually, the fire that was upon Rias' barrier broke apart giving them a small reprieve. Issei saw that Rias began breathing slightly heavier.

Rias unleashed another wave of black magic outlined in red towards Riser. He promptly dodged.

Issei took the chance to leap up behind from Rias and began charging towards Riser. The latter looked at him with disdain as Issei threw a punch.

It was easily caught.

"What?" Issei shouted in surprise.

"Out of my way. You're no match for me."

Fire formed upon Issei's fist and he instinctively began crying out from the searing pain on his knuckles. Riser released his hand and shoved him away forcefully to the ground. Issei tumbled along the ground as the fire on his fist began dying down. He then returned his attention to Rias and saw another attack being launched towards him to support Issei.

However, it was easily dodged and retaliated with another burst of fire. Once again, Rias raised another protective barrier identical to the last to protect herself.

Issei who had fallen to the ground, slowly struggled to get back up. Just as he did, he saw fire heading towards his direction. Eyes widening, he leapt away just in time to escape the fire that struck where he had just been. It exploded and despite his sudden gained distance, he could feel the heat emanating from his former spot.

"That was close." He muttered to himself before turning back to Riser. The latter simply smirked at him.

"Oh? You dodged that. I'm mildly impressed."

 **[Boost!]**

He was up to six boosts now. The pressure on himself magnified, though he could still handle it. Maybe six boosts would be enough power to actually hit Riser.

Once again, he rushed into his attacking range of Riser, swinging his arm equipped with Boosted Gear. Riser simply leaned back to avoid it and raised a hand right towards Issei.

Issei ducked under the ensuing pyromancy just in time as it sailed over his head. The ends of his hair tingled from being slightly burnt, but Issei ignored it. The Pawn looked back up immediately for another attack, going for a two hit combo. His first punch sailed towards Riser's gut.

The sickening crunch was music to Issei's ears as he grinned.

No time to waste. He threw an uppercut with his gauntleted hand.

Riser was struck again. This time, the force sent him upwards.

Rias took the opportunity to send another wave of her magic. It clipped Riser in the arm as his hand disappeared from being hit before he began falling down.

Before he touched the ground, wings of fire burst from his back which kept him floating in the air. Issei saw that his hand was already lit on fire and already regenerating. Now was the time to press his attack.

He sprinted towards Riser and once positioned, leapt up towards Riser with as much power as he could muster. The devil was still trying to reorient himself from being struck. The latter managed to realize that he was being assaulted. It wasn't enough. Issei elbowed him right in the chest and sent Riser flying backwards again.

This time, Riser managed to catch himself just in time. The quick retaliation with a jet of flames towards Issei left him shocked at such a rapid move. As such, Issei was unprepared for it and ended up crying out in pain at the burns licking his body. He was knocked onto his back on the dirt floor where the track field of the alternate Kuoh Academy.

"Ugh…" He moaned in agony.

"Issei!" He heard Rias crying out in concern for him. "Get up! Hurry!"

Before he could get back up, searing pain ran along his entire body as flames surrounded him.

"Aggggghhhh!" He shouted in utter pain.

"Issei!" He could barely make out from the anguish he was in.

It didn't last long though. However, his body utterly arched and Issei could tell that bare skin was being exposed from his burnt clothes. Parts of his body even felt more tender and sensitive than usual as Issei struggled to get back up. He stumbled a bit as he looked at what was going on.

Riser and Rias were clashing their magic against each other, taking shots whenever they could as they exchanged blows. All of them were being blocked, but Issei could see that Rias was beginning to sweat. He didn't think that it was from the heat from Riser's flames either.

Issei took a quick look at himself.

It looked terrible to say the least. The bottom half of his uniform pants were burnt off. The same was said for his right arm where the entirety of it was completely gone, leaving only charred skin. Second and first degree burns littered his skin where any of it was exposed, including his face.

He felt just as bad as he looked too. Maybe even worse.

 **[Boost!]**

Boost seven. He was close. He was reaching his limit. The series of attacks he went through didn't feel like ten seconds had passed. It had felt more like half a minute.

 **"Stand back Partner. They're both in the air now. As I expected, you're too weak to even try fighting that Phenex. You might have gotten a few good hits on him, but that's probably the most you're going to get. Phenex flames can even burn through dragon scales. I'm impressed you managed to get this far, but given his namesake and his skill, there's not much else you can do at the moment unless you want to Retire yourself."**

"Damn it!" Issei scowled for his weakness. "But if I don't help Buchou, she's going to lose against that bastard!"

 **"She just needs to hold out a little longer. Your King isn't as weak as you think, though that Phenex is still better than the both of you combined. He doesn't look the least bit winded at all."**

"A few more seconds then…"

 **"A few more seconds, and you'll be boosted all the way up. Your wounds are pretty bad though. If you take any more, the Sacred Gear will automatically use the Reset command to keep you alive."**

"But if that happens, I won't be able to use the Oppai Spark!" Issei exclaimed, dread filling him at failing to use the most vital move to claim victory.

 **"That's why I said to leave it to your King for a bit. Stay back a bit longer."**

Issei did. The wait was agonizing, especially when viewing Rias duel against Riser. It was easy to say that Rias was beginning to struggle against Riser as she was being pushed back, even while using her red barrier now. Riser on the other hand, smirked at every turn as he began overpowering Rias.

 **[Boost!]**

That one word couldn't have come any sooner for Issei.

"Alright, it's ready!" Issei declared.

He barely managed to raise his arm to his ear, wincing as any movement sent vibrations of aching.

"Buchou! Hold him still!" He told her over the radio, not wanting Riser to catch onto the plan.

She didn't say anything, but Issei began seeing her movements changing. She began attacking more aggressively than before, trying to keep Riser on the defensive. As he expected, Riser dodged a few of them before raising a similar barrier to what Rias did.

"Here we go! Take this, you stupid yakitori bastard!" Issei shouted as he aimed his Boosted Gear towards Riser.

His other damaged arm moved to support it as power coalesced within the Boosted Gear's palm.

 **[Explosion!]**

The familiar red and green light shone brightly in the center of his gauntlet. It emanated with a radiance that Issei found almost mesmerizing as pure power combined to form a red ball. It formed rapidly and just like last time, he felt his energy sapping away at such a rapid pace.

He wanted so badly to let go. He wanted so badly to stop all the aches in his body. He wanted so badly to just rest.

He held on just a little longer for the sake of the peerage. For his friends.

Resolution burned within him as he aimed the crimson sphere towards Riser.

 **"Oppai Spark!"**

The red sphere expanded shot and expanded into a giant laser. The familiar hum Oppai Spark made filled his ears with satisfaction as the giant laser shot towards Riser.

Rias continued pelting Riser with attacks, keeping him held down as long as she could while the laser moved closer to Riser.

"What!? He shouted in shock as he saw the crimson laser shooting towards him at the speed of a bullet.

He tried to fly away. It was too late.

The laser completely engulfed Riser. He disappeared into it.

Issei held onto the Oppai Spark as long as his stamina could hold out. Sweat dripped down his face and his muscles struggled to hold up under the intense pressure he was in with the several Boosts he had and the Oppai Spark. After a few seconds, he stopped giving his most powerful attack the fuel it needed to continue. As a result, it dwindled down until there was nothing left.

Issei didn't even look up to see whether or not Riser was there. His attack had definitely hit. Pure exhaustion filled him as he fell backwards onto the dirt ground with a thud for what must have felt like the millionth time.

"W-we won. I got him…" He said weakly, smiling. "We won…"

He took in large intakes of air, trying to keep up with his rapid heartbeats, desperate to keep oxygen flowing in his blood.

His eyes began closing, eager to do so as the fight was now over.

That was… until he felt himself being picked up off the ground with no amount of gentleness and into the air.

"No… you didn't win."

Issei's eyes snapped open to see a familiar face upon him.

"R-Riser…" He weakly cried out.

Issei managed to look at Riser's form with blurred eyes.

If Issei was in a terrible state, then Riser was just as horrible. Burns were everywhere on Riser's figure. His clothes, once immaculate despite taking several attacks, were in complete tatters in a state worse than Issei's. Despite being a Phenex, he had most definitely been wounded and he wasn't healing from it.

"That was an impressive attack." Riser complimented. "I don't know how you learned such a thing in a short amount of time, but I admit that I underestimated you, Red Dragon Emperor. If I was any other devil, I would have been retired instantly."

Riser punched Issei in the stomach with a flame-coated fist. Issei coughed up blood in response.

"But I'm Riser Phenex. Our regeneration is second to none." Riser pointed out once more, holding up Issei like a ragdoll before turning to Rias.

"Rias! I'm still alive! Surrender to me, or your pawn will continue to suffer!"

"Let him go Riser. He's no threat to you anymore." Rias tried to reason, seeing Issei's almost unconscious form.

"No threat? He just used a powerful attack that almost retired me." Riser retorted, scoffing at Rias' weak attempt to help Issei. "No. I'm going to use him to make you surrender."

Another fist was sent right into Issei's stomach. Issei coughed up blood again.

"Issei!" Rias shouted in concern.

"It doesn't look like the system is registering him as retired. As long as he's still here and conscious, I can cause him as much pain as I want." Riser threatened, raising another fist in preparation. "So. Do you surrender Rias?"

"Issei! Go to sleep! Close your eyes! Please!" She begged him. "Retire yourself! Don't stay awake! I'll fight for us!"

Issei however, continued to persist in trying to keep his eyes open.

Riser punched him again, causing the same effects as before.

The pain was too much for Issei.

 **[Reset!]**

"Do you value your peerage, Rias? I know the Gremory value their peerage like family over all else. I wonder how you feel now, seeing your precious Pawn like this." Riser continued to goad her, smirking all the while at Rias' composure breaking down.

"Stop! I-… No more. I… I can't bear to see anyone from my peerage like this." She struggled to say anything, tears flowing from her eyes.

Riser raised another fist. "I'm waiting Rias. I don't think your pawn can take much more. Make your decision, before I get too impatient."

"O-okay… I…" Rias squeaked out, no longer caring or even looking like the elegant princess of the Gremory Clan.

She kneeled in defeat.

"D-don't…" Issei weakly interrupted. "Don't… surrender…."

Riser's fist met Issei's stomach for the fourth time.

"Quiet. You don't get to talk." Riser glared at him, causing Rias further anguish. "Now hurry and surrender Rias. There's no shame in surrendering to a superior opponent."

Before Rias could say anything, Issei began chuckling feebly.

"You… let your… guard down."

 **[Boost!]**

Riser's eyes widened in utter surprise as he felt a hand press to his stomach. Issei smirked as a small laser pierced Riser, forcing him to drop the Pawn as the latter was thrown back.

Riser didn't even get to scream in pain at the new hole in his stomach.

The both of them landed on the ground while Rias looked on in disbelief at what had happened.

 **"Unbelievable!"**

Issei could hear Ddraig shout before the latter guffawed at the sudden turnaround.

 **"Riser-sama has been retired. Victory goes to Rias-sama and her peerage."**

"Issei!" Rias shouted, running over to Issei's downed body as blood dripped out of his mouth.

"Buchou…" He managed to murmur. "Did we… win?"

Tears which were once of sadness, were now tears of joy as they coursed down Rias' eyes and she answered. "Yes. We won. Thanks to you Issei. We won the Rating Game."

He smiled wholeheartedly at her.

"I'm glad."

Issei fainted.

xXx

The party that was ensuing was loud, Suika noted. Just how she liked it. It had been a few days since she, Marisa, and Reisen had left Rias' vacation home to return to the Inaba Clinic. Then, Rias and her entire peerage had shown up with smiles and grins on their faces when Rias had announced that she had won the Rating Game against Riser. Thus, the Inaba Clinic Team had been invited to a celebration at the Occult Research Club.

It was a shame that only the Gensokyo members could down alcohol, but at least it was lively. Even the Student Council President with her peerage or whatever, along with the girl Asia had shown up for the party.

Oh well. The more the merrier, Suika believed.

"What!? You had my doujin all along!?"

She heard Issei shouting towards Marisa as the witch waved it around like some toy.

"Hey, Kiba. Catch!" Marisa tossed the grey-covered doujin towards him which he caught deftly.

"What is it?" He questioned.

"Eh. Just a book. It's got you in it." Marisa described nonchalantly, waving his question off dismissively.

"Kiba no! It's a trap! Don't open it!" Issei warned, but it was too late as the blonde boy ended up opening it to view the pages.

"Actually Hyoudou…" Another blonde, young man interrupted though his hair appeared to be more light brown. "Speaking of that particular thing, I've had to confiscate so many of those recently. It's been circulating throughout the school, being sold by the girls. Even I got a look at it. He would've seen it eventually."

Issei's mouth gaped open, shock flooding his body as his mind shut down from the horror of such a thing.

"In that case, I don't think anybody would mind one less copy." Kiba stated as he formed a flame sword in his hand and lifted the doujin Marisa had given him to it.

The doujin burnt into a crisp, leaving nothing but ashes behind as it dropped onto the floor. Kiba didn't even flinch as the flames reached his fingers.

"Aww. I wanted ta' keep it." Marisa complained, pouting at the destruction of Issei's former possession. "Maybe I'll stop by yer' school and steal another one as a souvenir!"

Suika decided to leave the small group alone. She didn't really know what was in the doujin, whatever that meant. Instead, she turned her attention to Reisen who was speaking to Rias.

"Thank you. We couldn't have won without the Clinic's help." Suika overheard Rias graciously thank Reisen.

Reisen shook her head. "No. While I did give you some viable strategies, it was you who managed to execute it. You managed to win against odds that anybody would be hard-pressed to do."

"It was thanks to my peerage." Rias diverted. "If it wasn't for them, none of this would have been possible. Everybody was important until the end. Without them, I'd be nothing."

Reisen smiled. "It's good to hear that you care about the people close to you. Keep them close, Rias-san. Sometimes, the people closest to you can be taken away very easily."

Rias looked confused at hearing that, but didn't question it any further from what Suika saw.

"Hey. Suika-san!" Issei called out, walking over to her with a beaming smile.

"Yo!" She gave him a wave of her hand. "What's up kid?"

"I told you to call me Issei." He complained half-heartedly. "I just wanted to thank you and Marisa-san."

Suika raised an interested eyebrow. "Thank us fer' what? We just beat all of ya' guys up fer' nine days. Most people would complain, ya' know."

"And it hurt so much! But if you didn't, we would have lost. Even after all our training, I still couldn't do much to Riser in the end." Issei explained, a grim smile on his face. "I don't want to know what would have happened if we didn't have you guys' help. Marisa-san said she even taught me one of her favorite spells, didn't she?"

Suika nodded, placing her arms behind her neck casually.

"Yeah. Master Spark's one of her favorite moves. She's got some stronger moves, but that one's the most used."

"If it wasn't for her, we couldn't have beaten Riser. The Oppai Spark…" Suika chuckled at the ridiculously named attack here. "Is really strong. And I never got to thank everybody before you guys left."

"Well, if you really want ta' thank me kid…" Suika plopped her purple gourd into his hand. "Why don't ya try this? See if ya' like it."

"Hey, isn't this sake? I'm still underage." Issei pointed out as he looked at the bottle suspiciously.

Suika waved off his concern. "Ahh, don't worry! It won't harm ya'. Yer' what, seventeen? Just take a sip."

He peered at the gourd a bit longer before deciding eventually submitting to her request. He tilted the gourd back as the sake entered his mouth and down his throat.

The moment it did, he began coughing.

"Agh. What is this? It's so strong!" He hacked out, immediately handing the gourd back to Suika.

Suika laughed boisterously. "Ahh, guess ya' don't have the stomach fer' it. Yer' supposed to drink at parties, ya' know."

"That's next year, Suika-san." Issei noted. "I think I'll come visit you guys a bit more often. Maybe I'll even bring Buchou and the others."

"Ehhh, maybe. Not too sure 'bout that. I mean, Reisen might mind and ya' guys can't come all the time. We're supposed ta' be a clinic too. If we're workin', ya' can't bother us." Suika tried to argue.

"Really? I know Reisen-san is the doctor. I overheard Marisa-san being the person to get supplies. What do you do then?" Issei asked curiously, crossing his arms in doubt.

"I'm a bodyguard." Suika exclaimed. "Ya' already know Marisa handles all the magic. I do all the heavy liftin'. Ya' guys should know that; ya' guys could barely even touch me."

"Yeah you're right…" Issei remembered.

"Hmm? What's up? Ya' look like ya' wanna ask me somethin'." Suika observed, smirking at the devil.

"Ahh." Issei's faced flushed at being caught so easily. "Nah, it's nothing. I promised myself I wouldn't ask."

"Oh. Well…" He started, slightly taken back at being encouraged by Suika. "First then. Is it okay to call you Suika-sensei? Marisa-sensei too."

"Sensei?" Even Suika was somewhat surprised at that. "I don't really mind. Marisa probably won't either. Why though?"

Issei scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, you guys taught us and you helped us a lot. If it wasn't for you guys like I said, we would have definitely lost. It feels sort of wrong to keep calling you something else."

"Ya' know I look younger than you right? I don't really care what ya' call me, but won't it be awkward for ya'?" Suika pointed out, grinning all the while.

Issei shook his head. "Nah. Besides, it's not like you're older than all of us combined, right? You can't be that old from how you look."

Suika began laughing exuberantly at Issei's words.

"Suika-sensei?" He asked, confused at her reaction.

She shook her head, wiping a tear out of her eyes. "Nothin' kid. Anyway, what else didja' wanna ask?"

"Alright then I guess." Issei continued, switching between looking uncomfortable at asking it while being ashamed." Well, all of us were wondering how you're so strong. Even Koneko-chan can't match up to you, and she's a Rook. All we saw when we hit you was your shirt blouse getting to

"Oh that." Suika's expression tightened for a single moment before slackening again. "Sorry kid, but I can't tell ya' that. Yer' gonna have ta' wait until we feel like we're ready."

Issei nodded, grinning despite the rejection. "It's okay. I don't think anybody will care too much today anyway. We won after all!"

Suika beamed. "Yeah, no need ta' wreck the atmosphere. I think this party needs a bit more livelihood! What say we get the others and play a few games? It's the best way to celebrate a victory!"

Issei looked nervous at what she considered for more livelihood, but was dragged along as Suika went around to pester everyone into playing party games.

* * *

 **Beta: Lunar Wave**

 **A/N: Thanks goes to Lunar Wave for beta'ing this chapter! Check out his stories because you won't be disappointed!**

 **And the Phenex Arc comes to a close. Unfortunately, for those who dislike this part, I feel it's a necessary point to get through. Plus, given that Issei didn't get his Transfer Power, I made it up with Oppai Spark. He'll get it, eventually. I can't get through it with exposition, or it'll ruin the pacing of the story. I tried to make it more difficult for Rias as I felt it should have been, considering all the odds were against her in Canon as well. No Asia, being outnumbered, and generally having superior pieces over Rias' own at the point in time. Even with ten days of training, it would be outrageous for them to be stronger than Riser's own in such a short period of time. Riser should have had more experience than Rias, but I don't think that was displayed very well in Canon. As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!**

 **Next up will be the beginnings of where this story goes somewhat AU. The next Arc will be my own Arc. I've hinted at it for a while, but now it's time to address it in full.**


End file.
